


Fast Car

by sarahdani20



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, LGBTQ Character, Safe Haven, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2019-08-29 08:53:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16740889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahdani20/pseuds/sarahdani20
Summary: Waverly has had enough of being let down by the one's she loves most. She can't take it anymore and makes a hasty decision to skip town to get away from reality, to not be Waverly Earp anymore. She planned on going alone, but her neighbor, an outcast red head decides to join her. Waverly Earp ends up going on a trip of a life time, a trip that she will never forget.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! New fic, I'm super excited for this one! Please check out my other two as well, love you all xx

"Oh dammit," Waverly said as she dropped yet another thing from the top shelf. A pair of Wynonna's old roller blades. She sighed and picked them up and placed them back on a lower shelf. One of the disadvantages of being short was not being able to reach stuff, which also means either dropping or breaking everything on the top shelf. 

"You need help?" a voice called out from behind her. 

She turned around to see her unfriendly neighbor, Nicole Haught. She was standing there in a backward baseball cap, a long black t-shirt, and black ripped jeans. Oh, and you can't forget about the checkered Vans. 

"Um, no I-I'm good," Waverly stammered. Her neighbor made her very nervous because she was known for not being the nicest and for also being a bit of a troublemaker. 

"Are you sure? Because I've watched you drop like, five things already," she said, already hopping over the chipped, white picket fence. "Um, I think you broke that," she said pointing down to the small vase she had knocked over. She walked up next to Waverly and leaned against the shelf, just smirking while watching her struggle over her height issues. 

"I'm fine. I appreciate it, but I don't need your help," she said firmly. 

"What are you looking for?" she asked with a very arrogant tone. 

"My old field hockey stick," she said, still reaching her hand back and for the top shelf. "I think it's all the way in the back." 

"I got it," Nicole said, easily reaching all the way to the top shelf and grabbing her old, beat up blue field hockey stick. "This what you're looking for?" she said holding it up in front of her. 

"Yes, thank you," she said reaching for it, but Nicole pulled back before she could get a hold of it. 

"Hey!" Waverly said in frustration. 

"Ah, ah, ah," she said holding up the field hockey stick so she couldn't reach it. "There is a catch here y'know."

"What? You want me to hook up with one of your loser friends?" she said crossing her arms. She could feel herself getting angrier. "I _do_ have a boyfriend you know."

"No. That's not it. Although that doesn't sound like a bad idea," she said putting the hockey stick back down. 

"Ew, gross," she said unfolding her arms. "Now give me back my fockey stick." She reached for it again, but Nicole pulled it back again. 

"I need a... favor," she said with a pause between 'a' and 'favor.' 

Waverly rolled her eyes and crossed her arms again. She shifted her weight to her left leg, so her right hip was sticking out a bit. 

"What favor could you possibly need?" Waverly asked.

"Um, well, our last final is Monday, and we have three days to study. And it's chemistry," Nicole said, looking away from Waverly. "And I don't know what I'm doing. I have no idea how to balance equations or whatever. And I _know_ that you're like, a chemistry genius. And I need to do well if I want to get into Uconn so I can play basketball there." 

They had just finished their English and History that Friday morning. They only took two finals in the morning and were free to leave after their last final of that day. So Waverly came home to relax and study more. She had the weekend, so she was planning on just taking Friday off. 

Waverly thought for a minute; she glanced over at Nicole's old, broken down, dilapidated house. There was a small part of her that felt bad for Nicole, but that quickly disappeared when she remembered the awful first impression the redhead was making. 

"Fine," Waverly said, to be honest, she wasn't thinking about what she just agreed to. She just wanted her field hockey stick back.

"Can I have my fock stick back please?" she asked urgently.

Nicole handed her the field hockey stick and gave her a sly look. "I don't remember you playing field hockey." 

Waverly sighed, "Yeah I played for about a month, but then my Uncle Curtis got sick, so I had to take a little time off to take care of him."

Nicole looked down; she was a little embarrassed because she saw Waverly's face fall. She knew she just hit a sore spot.

"Oh, I hope he's ok?" Nicole said, trying to make up for the spot that she just hit.

"Um, no. He passed a few weeks after he got sick," Waverly said, her voice quivering.

" _Oh shit. Nice going dumbfuck, 0 for 2,"_ Nicole thought to herself.  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," she said quietly. 

"Um, so meet me tonight at Shorty's at 6. We can start studying them" Waverly said walking past Nicole and into her house. 

Nicole turned around, she wanted to apologize again for upsetting Waverly, but the words just didn't seem to come out of her mouth. 

"Fuck. I just upset the smartest person in town _and_ my tutor. She was cute, too. Nice going dumbass," Nicole mumbled to herself. She walked out of the garage and hopped back over the fence into her old, run-down house.

****

" _Why did I agree to this,"_ Waverly thought as she sat at the bar at Shorty's. She was anxiously awaiting Nicole, hoping that the tutoring session wouldn't be too tedious and painful. 

"Nervous?" her Aunt Gus asked. She could easily tell that Waverly was nervous, because when she's anxious or nervous she's always fidgeting, can never sit still, and can never look in one direction for more than a minute.

"A little," Waverly said quietly. She was trying not to have such a negative look at tutoring Nicole, but she was finding it hard since she currently wasn't the redheads biggest fan.

"Don't worry, Waverly. Try to keep an open mind, people in this town do seem to exaggerate things. She may not be as bad as you think," she said, placing her hand atop of Waverly's, trying to calm her nerves.

"But, Aunt Gus, have you heard of some of the thing's people have said about her?" Waverly asked, wondering if her very gossipy Aunt was aware of the reputation of Nicole Haught.

"Of course, Waverly. But, I've spent a good part of my young adult and adult life trying not to judge someone before I know them. I'm hoping that I've raised to do the same," Aunt Gus said with a very serious, yet sincere tone. 

Aunt Gus handed her a shot of whiskey. Something she didn't often do, but she would occasionally when she thought that Waverly needed it.

"I've gotta go restock the bar, try not to worry too much, ok?" she said, throwing the dish towel over her shoulder. 

Waverly gave her a small smile, "Thank's Aunt Gus." She took the shot, not realizing how much she needed it. Her brain was going a million miles a minute. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Nicole walk in. 

"Didn't know Golden Girl had a fake ID," Nicole said throwing her backpack on the counter and taking a seat next to Waverly. She grabbed the shot glass and sniffed. "Whiskey?" she said cocking her head in curiosity.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" Waverly asked, already feeling herself getting frustrated.

"No, just thought you would've been more of a Cosmopolitan girl, or not an alcohol person at all," she said, stereotyping Waverly, which frustrated her even more.

"Whiskey is personally a favorite of mine. But I try not to drink it, too much. I don't really drink at all, just every once and a while," Waverly said taking out her chemistry notes.

"Mhm," Nicole said hopping over the bar and behind the counter. "I'm more of a scotch person," she said as she started rummaging through each liquor bottle on the shelf, taking out a glass and some ice. "But I guess whiskey is ok for now," she said taking out the whiskey bottle. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Waverly asked, quite honestly appalled by how she was acting. 

"I'm in a bar," she said pouring herself also a glass of whiskey. "So I drink." 

"Ice dulls the flavor, y'know," her Aunt Gus said behind her. 

Nicole looked back and then down at her drink, scooped the ice out with her bare hand and threw it back into the cooler under the bar. "Thanks," she said grabbing a clean and neat kitchen towel folded under the counter. She hopped back over the counter and took a big swig of her drink. 

"I'm her Aunt Gus; I own Shorty's," she said extended out her arm. 

Nicole was hesitant but shook her hand very loosely. "I'm Nicole Haught." 

"I know who you are," she said neatening out the towel Nicole had crumpled. "You know that stuff isn't free, right?" 

Nicole looked down at her drink and shrugged. "Sorry, don't have any money," she said, downing the rest of whiskey in her glass. She reached over for the bottle for more, but Gus snatched it away before she could get her hands on it. 

"Poured yourself a hefty amount of whiskey there. Want another, pay the 6.50. And even then I can't promise you I'll give you another," Gus said putting the bottle back and wiping down the counter. 

Nicole pursed her lips in disappointment and set the glass back down. Gus walked away and went over to the corner with a broom, sweeping up the place before it got busy. She sighed and turned to Waverly, who was sitting there with an annoyed face.

"What?" Nicole asked. "Why do you look like that?"

"I thought you came here to study, not rummage through our liquor and have a drink.  _And_ might I add be very rude to my aunt," Waverly said very sharply. 

Nicole shrugged her shoulders again, something that she seemed to do very often. "She denied me my alcohol. Therefore she denied my right to the 21st Amendment; I had to defend myself."

Waverly gave a small smile, trying not to give into Nicole's wit. She didn't want the redhead to think that she wanted to be friends with her. Waverly was starting to believe that Nicole wasn't as bad as people made her out to be.

"We have a lot of work to do," she said pulling out her chemistry work.

"Right, I didn't come here for the alcohol," Nicole said sighing as she took out her chemistry book.

Something about the way Nicole said 'she wasn't here for the  _alcohol_ _'_ intrigued Waverly. Because it sure didn't seem like Nicole was here to study. 

***

"So, carbon has how many atoms?" Waverly asked pointing to the question. 

"Um, three?" Nicole said. 

"Correct, and what do we need to do to make carbon balance out carbon dioxide

"Add three carbon atoms on the right to balance the three on the left," Nicole said confidently. 

"Yes! Now you're getting it!" Waverly said, excited for how well Nicole was doing. "Ok, onto the next one." 

"Wow, I think I am getting this," Nicole said picking up her pencil. "You're a lot better than I thought. Way better than boring Mr. Greiger." 

"Agreed, he' s the worst isn't he?" Waverly said with a smile. 

"He smells awful like he hasn't showered in years," Nicole said laughing. "He called me up to his desk once, and I started gagging and coughing. I felt so bad I ran out of the room. To this day I can't look him in the eye."

"Ah, so you do have feelings," Waverly said sarcastically, she ever so slightly pulled her stool closer to Nicole. 

"Well, of course, Waverly. Of course, I have feelings. I fucking hate talking about them, and I hate when people feel bad for me and shit like that. But yeah, I have feelings, I hide them because that's what works best for me," Nicole said abruptly. 

"Why do you assume people would feel bad for you?" Waverly asked, genuinely curious as to why Nicole said something like that. 

Nicole glared at Waverly, "Have you seen the house I live in? Or the clothes that I wear?" she said gesturing toward the beat-up jeans, torn shirt, and dirty vans. "I'm not exactly rich and can afford nice things. Hell I found these vans in the trailer park, probably shouldn't have stolen them but I," Nicole said her voice faltering. "I really liked them. So I took them," Nicole said quietly. "Not all of us live in a nice house and own a bar for god's sake," Nicole snapped. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Waverly asked, getting defensive. 

"It's just like you've never seen a poor person before. Either that or you're so naive you seriously think that everyone has nice things," Nicole said throwing her pencil down. "Because that's not the case. The nicest thing I have is a beat up, old longboard." Nicole sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration. 

"Ok, alright. I'm sorry, I guess I didn't pay attention to the things you have. That's not the first thing I notice when I meet people."

Nicole's face softened a little bit, "Well what is the first thing you notice when you meet people?" 

Waverly sighed and thought for a little bit, "I don't know. But I do know that material things don't matter to me. It's morals and personality; if you're not an asshole, then you're fine by me." 

"Well, what do I qualify as for you?" Nicole asked sitting up more. 

"Don't know yet," Waverly said cryptically. 

There was a small smile that formed in the corner of Nicole's mouth, she flashed her dimples, which freaked Waverly out. She was starting to think that Nicole wasn't as bad as people said she was. When she smiled, her eyes smiled, too. 

"Uh, we should get back to work. We only have a few more problems," Waverly said turning to her papers. 

"Actually no, it's almost eight, and I don't want you and your friend both to be here when people start to roll in," Gus said. "Especially Bobo, get's piss drunk almost every night. So finish it at home, you can walk home after right?" she asked turning to Nicole. 

"Yeah, but I'll go over only if Waverly is ok with it," Nicole said turning to Waverly. 

"Um, we have all day tomorrow, we can finish them then," Waverly said packing up her things.

Nicole nodded and started to throw her things in her beaten up backpack. 

"You two live next to each other, the least you can do is walk her home," Aunt Gus said to Waverly. 

Waverly tried to hide her face of disappointment and forced a smile. "Uh, let's go then," she said. She got up from the stool and waited for Nicole to finish packing up her things. 

Waverly's Aunt Gus smiled at them before heading back down to the basement to finish restocking the bar. Nicole waited until her back was turned before grabbing the bottle of whiskey again and pouring herself a small shot and downing that before she left. 

"You're Aunt has some pretty good stuff," Nicole said wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 

Waverly recoiled a bit and handed her a tissue from her bag. "Here," she said giving it to Nicole. 

"Oh, thanks," she said taking it and wiping the rest of her mouth. "You don't have to walk me home y'know. Like if you had other plans after this you can go, I can handle myself," she said opening the door for Waverly. 

Waverly blushed a little bit at how Nicole held the door open for her. "I didn't have plans, and it's fine. I don't mind walking with you." 

Nicole nodded her head, and they walked in silence for a little, both trying to figure out what to say without being too awkward. 

"Do you wanna stop at the diner? They have good milkshake's there," Nicole said pointing to the diner across the street. 

Waverly hesitated for a quick second, thinking if she wanted to be seen out in public with Nicole. She hated that it came across her mind, I mean her reputation wasn't a big thing to her. But she certainly didn't want to be seen with someone who has an awful reputation. 

"Um, yeah, sure. If we can make it quick, I kinda want to get home," Waverly said looking down at her shoes. She felt bad saying no to her, but also did kind of want to get home. 

"Yeah, we can make it quick," Nicole said with disappointment in her voice. She honestly didn't want to go home, considering where she lived. She tried to stay out as long as she could, it was rare to find her home for more than a few hours. 

They quickly crossed the street to the brightly colored, 90s themed diner. It was a favorite spot in town, so Waverly was hoping that they wouldn't see anyone they know there. 

"Hey Nicole!" a tall, burly man said behind the counter.

"Hey, Roger," Nicole said leaning over the counter. He was dressed in a 90s themed diner outfit. 

"Who's this?" he asked looking in Waverly's direction. 

"My tutor," Nicole said shortly. 

"Waverly," she said smiling and extending her hand. 

Roger smiled and gladly shook her hand. "I'm Roger, as you probably already know." 

"Nice to meet you," Waverly said smiling again. 

"What can I get you ladies?" he said taking out his notepad and pencil. 

"Um, a chocolate milkshake for me. You?" she asked turning to Waverly. 

"Chocolate works for me," Waverly said taking a seat. 

"Oh, and an order of fries," Nicole added. 

"Ok, two chocolate milkshake's and an order of fries coming up," he said ripping the order out of the notepad. "Yo! Bruce, an order of fries and two milkshakes," he said handing the order to the cook. 

"You must come here often then?" Waverly asked, turning towards Nicole. 

"Yeah, I'm kind of a regular here," Nicole said. She took off her jacket and threw it on the counter, and of course, she ended up knocking over the ketchup bottle. 

"I'm surprised I've never seen you here before. This place is pretty popular," Waverly said, wringing her hands together.   

"I try to avoid people from school. So I schedule my time here around when people from school normally come," she said. 

"Yeah, but you're friends with Garrett and John. And that girl, Piper?" Waverly asked. She was sure that she's seen Nicole hanging out with people from school before. 

"We're not exactly friends. We're friendly, but not friends," she said with a sigh. "Well, what about you?" Nicole asked trying to change the subject from her to something else. "I see you hanging out with Chrissy Nedley all the time.

"Yeah, known her forever. We're really close; she's my best friend," Waverly said smiling.

"And Champ? Assuming he's your boyfriend," Nicole said. 

"Yep," Waverly said with a heavy voice. It looked like a huge weight had been put on her shoulders. "That he is." 

"Why does that not sound like a good thing?" Nicole asked, concerned that she might've again upset Waverly. 

Waverly shrugged her shoulders, "No, he's, he's great," she said with a tight voice. You could tell that it was tough for her to say that. 

"Doesn't sound like it," Nicole said turning her stool back facing forward.

"Here you are ladies," Roger said handing them two milkshakes and a bag full of fries. "Two milkshakes and an order of fries."

"Thanks, Roger," Nicole said handing him a 20. "Keep the change." She grabbed her milkshake and the bag of fries, and they both headed for the door.

Nicole held open the door for Waverly again, which made her blush again. 

"Why'd you order fries on top of a shake? Do you know how many calories that is?" Waverly asked, taking a sip of her milkshake.

"Did you just call me fat?" Nicole asked smirking.

"Um, no," Waverly said, she could feel herself turning even redder. 

"Hm, I'm pretty sure you did," Nicole said chuckling. She carefully held the milkshake in one hand while she opened the bag full of fries. "This is why. Here, hold this," she said handing Waverly the brown bag. She popped open the milkshake lid and grabbed the bag back, took a fry out, dipped it in the milkshake, and shoved the whole fry right in her mouth. She saw Waverly recoil in disgust. 

"You've never heard of this before?" Nicole asked with food still in her mouth. She was surprised that Waverly never heard of this before. 

"No, that's disgusting," Waverly said looking back down at the ground. 

"Don't knock it till you try it," Nicole said grabbing another fry. She dipped it back into the milkshake, and instead of taking a bite she handed it to Waverly. 

"Um, no thanks," she said sticking out her hand. 

"C'mon, Waves," she said sticking it further in her face. "Just try it, a small bite." 

"Waves, huh?" Waverly said smirking at the redhead. 

"Oh, sorry. Do you not like that?" Nicole said, taken aback, kicking herself for possibly again upsetting her. 

"No, I don't mind. It's just; my mother used to call me that," Waverly said, her eyes getting misty. She looked up at Nicole, wondering her reaction, who was still holding the fry in front of her. She gave an awkward smile and held up the fry. Waverly couldn't help but smile. 

"Fine, I'll try it," she said taking the fry from Nicole. She was hesitant at first, analyzing it before she finally took a tiny bite. She tried to hide a smile, but Nicole caught it. 

"It's good, isn't it?" Nicole said laughing. "And you thought it was gross." 

"I stand corrected," Waverly said. "But I hope this isn't what you live on." 

Nicole nodded, "It kinda is. I don't really know how to cook, and I'm not much of a vegetable and fruit person." She was a little embarrassed that Waverly now knew she wasn't a healthy eater. 

"Well," Waverly said looking down. "I can teach you if you want. I'm a pretty good cook." She wasn't sure what she just offered up to the redhead, but she tried not to worry about it too much. 

"Really?" Nicole said, raising an eyebrow. "I might just take you up on that." A small smile formed across her face, showing off her dimples. Waverly thought that she had a sweet smile and that her dimples were somewhat cute. 

"Well, we're here," Waverly said, stepping onto her side of the fence. 

"Uh, thanks for tutoring me," Nicole said with a small smile. 

"Thanks for the milkshake and the fries. I'm surprised that I didn't know that was a thing," Waverly said. 

"Me too," Nicole said. "Um so if you're free tomorrow? I still need all the help I can get," Nicole said looking down. She kind of hated that she needed help, she always found a way to solve her problems and never asked for help. She always felt weak when she did. 

"Yeah, tomorrow. Um, I'll call you?" Waverly asked, not sure if Nicole had a phone because she never showed it or talked about it. 

"Yeah," Nicole said, taking out her phone. "Here," she said handing Waverly her phone. Waverly took her phone in exchange for her own. Nicole typed in her phone number, and Waverly typed in hers. 

"I'm free all day tomorrow, so whatever works best for your schedule, text me. I'll answer," Nicole said, slowly walking away to her house. 

"Ok, will do," Waverly said, walking back to her house. 

"Oh and Waverly?" Nicole said. 

"What?" Waverly said turning back around.

"Thanks, for, um, helping me with chemistry," Nicole said running her hands through her hair. 

"No problem, I don't mind," Waverly said. But she wasn't sure if she meant the last part. Did she mind or not?

****

" _This book sucks,"_ Nicole said, laying down, feet hanging off the armrest. She was reading a book she had found in the way back of one of the shelves in her house. 

"I'm done," she said throwing the book on the coffee table. She got up to get water from the fridge and grabbed her phone to find a message from Waverly. 

W:  _Hey, I'm not busy, so if you're free you can come over, and we can study some more. The back door is open so just let yourself in._

"Sent 20 minutes ago," she said opening her phone. "I hope she's still free."

Nicole grabbed her water from the fridge and grabbed her backpack and headed out the door, making sure to lock it behind her. She hopped over the fence into the open garage and opened the back door and walked in, expecting to see Waverly sitting at the counter or something, but instead she heard yelling.

" _Her sister, maybe? I've only seen her like twice so, who knows,"_ Nicole said, quietly closing the door behind her. 

"Wynonna, are you kidding me?! This is your second time being accused and going to court! I can't take it anymore, when are you going to start making the right decisions!!" Waverly yelled. 

"Waverly, he was being perverted, multiple times. He wouldn't stop touching me and won't take no for an answer! I had to do something!" Wynonna yelled back.

"I get that, but smashing his car and slashing the tires?! And setting his bushes on fire?! If you had just told the police and petitioned the court, he would've been in hot water and not you! Now you have a perfectly valid case against you!" Waverly said exasperatedly. "I'm sick of this shit, Wynonna. And your trial date on July 31st, I'm not going to be there because I have that medical internship in New York City." 

Nicole was about to walk out when Wynonna spotted her lanyard fly out from her pocket. 

"We're not alone," Wynonna mumbled. She walked over to the door, expecting to find one of Waverly's friends, but found Nicole instead. 

"What are you doing here? Are you friends with my sister now?" Wynonna said turning to Waverly. 

"No," Waverly said quickly. Her quick response bothered Nicole; she didn't like that Waverly was so quick to deny any relationship between them.

"I'm just tutoring in her chemistry before our final on Monday," she said walking closer to Nicole and her sister.  

Wynonna looked back at Nicole and glared at her. "Whatever, I'll be back," she said grabbing her jacket and storming out of the house.

"Wait, we still have to talk about this, Wynonna!" she said, running after her sister who already drove out of the driveway. Waverly sighed when she saw the blue truck speed out of the driveway and onto the road. 

"Um, are you ok?" Nicole asked from behind her. 

Waverly quickly wiped a tear from her face and turned to Nicole, "Yeah, I'm fine. She does stuff like this all the time. You get used to it," she said closing the door and brushing past Nicole. 

"You sure? Because you're crying," Nicole said walking closer, making sure she didn't cross any lines with Waverly. 

"I'm fine," Waverly said sharply.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears," Nicole said. 

"I said I'm fine," Waverly snapped. "Let's just get started on studying. We have those few problems to finish and then we have to move on to scientific notation." 

Nicole frowned, she was hoping that she could get Waverly to confide in her, hoping that she could at least make one good friend in this town. But she took off her backpack and sat at the kitchen table next to Waverly. 

" _She wanted to talk like she willingly wanted to listen to me,"_ Waverly thought to herself. " _Maybe she's not as bad as I thought."_  


	2. Cool, I Like Road Trips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly needs a break from Purgatory and decides to skip town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the nice comments on my last chapter!! They really motivate me to keep writing!

"Waverly!" Nicole said from the top step of the stairs of Purgatory High. Everyone was leaving after their last final that Monday.

Waverly was almost in her car when the redhead stopped her. She turned around to see Nicole walking towards her. 

"Oh, hi," Waverly said, taking out her keys. "What's up?" 

"I just wanted to thank you for tutoring me. Especially so last minute, you made the final a lot easier," Nicole said with a small smile. 

Waverly smiled back and took out her keys, "No problem, glad I could help." 

"Babe!" Champ Hardy called from the right. He was Waverly's boyfriend, the typical hot and popular jock of the school, but a complete douche. Nicole knew that Waverly deserved better and she only knew her for a few days.

He came over and threw his arm around Waverly's shoulder. "We still going to the junkyard?" 

Waverly gave a confused look at Champ and pulled away a little. 

"What's the junkyard?" Nicole asked. 

"It's a place where Champ and his stupid friends go and shoot scrap metal and beer bottles. Y'know, do illegal stuff and occasionally blow stuff up," Waverly said crossing her arms. 

"But I thought we agreed on going on a hike after school, y’know, get away from reality a bit?" she said snapping at Champ. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Cooper and Jackson invited me, thought we could save that another day," he said very casually like he expected Waverly to go along with it. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and dropped her shoulders in frustration. 

"Who's this bimbo?" he asked turning his head, gesturing toward Nicole. 

"Champ, she's not a bimbo," Waverly snapped. "She's Nicole Haught." 

"Hm, whatever she looks like a slut to me," Champ said laughing, expecting Waverly to laugh with her, which she didn't. She glared at him and unwrapped herself from his arms. 

"Champ I'm sick of you treating my friends like this!" Waverly yelled. "You’re the rudest person I know! You're such an asshole! And you wonder none of them like you! I'm done Champ, I can’t take your pathetic ass anymore! We're done!" Waverly yelled unlocking her car and throwing her backpack into the passenger seat. 

"What? We're not done! We're done when I say we're done! Get back here, Waverly!" Champ yelled walking towards Waverly's car. 

"Fuck you, Champ! Go stick your small dick in Cindy Maris!" Waverly said starting her car. “We all know you’ve been hooking up with her since April! she said speeding away and almost hitting a car parked on the side of the road. 

"What the fuck!" Champ yelled, throwing his notebook into the street. He turned to Waverly and threw his hands in the air. "What do you think you're looking at?! Mind your business bitch!" He stomped to his car and angrily sped up out of the driveway, almost hitting three freshmen. 

Nicole threw her longboard down and pursed her lips. She headed down the same road as Waverly, kicking the ground behind her. She raced down the hill; she wanted to make sure that Waverly was ok, she hated that Champ treated her awfully. 

She usually stopped at the diner and hung out with Roger for a little, but today she was making her order to go. She whipped out her phone and called him," Roger, I'm going to need an order of two chocolate milkshakes and an order of fries. And make it fast, I'm taking it to go." She hung up the phone and threw it into her pocket and made a sharp right turn, making her way to the diner. 

It didn't take her that long to get to the diner considering she was skating pretty fast. She took a turn onto Main Street and turned into the diner parking lot. She hopped off her skateboard and made sure that she grabbed it before it rolled and hit the car in front of her. 

She quickly walked into the diner and dug a 20 out of her pocket. 

"Hey, Nicole," Roger said throwing the receipt in the brown bag. "What's the hurry?" 

"Can't talk, now. I'll explain later!" she said throwing down the 20 and grabbing the tray of shakes and the bag of fries. She rushed out of the diner and hopped back on her board making her way down main street and onto the neighborhood roads. 

She aggressively kicked the ground behind her, getting up a hill and taking another right onto their street, Monte Road. She sped up the road and onto Waverly's driveway, making such a sharp turn that she almost fell off her board. 

Nicole hopped off her board, letting it roll and hit the side of the house. She went through the garage door and barged in, without knocking.

"Waverly? Are you ok?" she yelled out. 

She threw her backpack off and walked around the bottom floor, looking for Waverly. 

"Waverly?" She checked the bathrooms, living room kitchen, dining room, fireplace area. She couldn't find her, so she ran upstairs, looking through all the rooms. But finally found Waverly in the last very last room. Her door was closed, and she was blasting very sad, and depressing music. She knocked on the door, not sure if Waverly would hear her over the music. She didn't get an answer and slowly opened the door. 

She found Waverly sitting upright on her bed, crying and looking through a photo album of her and Champ. She looked up and Nicole and looked back down and started crying harder. 

"Waverly," Nicole said softly. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She set down the tray, the bag, and her coat on the walnut bench at the foot of her bed and turned down the depressing music. 

"Are you ok?" Nicole said, taking a seat on Waverly's bed, keeping a respectable distance but close enough that Waverly could easily reach out for her. 

"I should be," Waverly said with a sad laugh. "He was an ass; everyone saw it coming, including me. He was always hooking up with other girls, never made time for me, canceled plans with me all the time for his friends. Never followed through with plans that we made. Got wasted, smoked a lot of weed. He was awful," Waverly said, her voice quivering. “And yet, I still don’t know why I’m crying.” She threw her head into her hands and started crying again. 

Nicole moved closer and placed her hand on her knee. "You deserve so much better, Waverly," she said as sympathetically as possible. He was a womanizer, he never deserved you, and you  _never_ deserved him. You're such a sweet person and if he couldn't notice that, then maybe he was as dumb as people said he was. Don't let him get to you; he's not worth the thought. You know who you are, Waves." 

Waverly lifted her head from her eyes and was met with the redhead, giving her the softest brown eyes and cutest dimpled smile. Pretty soon a small smile formed across her face, "Waves, huh?"

Nicole pulled her hand back and looked down, a little embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. I forgot I can stop calling you that if you want." She could feel herself getting redder by the minute. 

"No, it's ok. I don't mind, you don't have to stop if you don't want to," Waverly said wiping her tears. 

Nicole got up and grabbed some tissues on her desk, but ended up knocking a piece of paper on the ground. And that piece of paper ended up being Wynonna's subpoena. She bent down to pick it up and picked it up face first. She couldn't help but read the first few words on the document. 

"Oh crap, uh, I'm sorry," Nicole said putting the paper quickly back on the desk. 

"Oh fuck,I forgot about that," Waverly said, bawling her eyes out again. 

Nicole was kicking herself in the ass for upsetting Waverly, again.

"I can't take it anymore. My sister Willa died, my father died, my mother left me, and now my sister is going to jail. I can't fucking do it. Why does nothing ever good happen to me?! I didn't do anything to have life suck this much," Waverly threw her head back into her hands again.

Nicole's heart dropped to her stomach, she placed the tissues next to Waverly and wrapped her strong, toned arms around her and pulled her close. She wasn't sure how Waverly was going to react, but she didn't fight it. She fell into Nicole's arms, getting tears all over her shirt. 

"You have your Aunt Gus, right?" Nicole asked, saying anything that came to mind to try and comfort the brunette sobbing in her arms. 

"She hasn't been the same since my Uncle Curtis died, she's more distant and is almost never home. I've basically been living on my own ever since he passed," Waverly said. She stopped sobbing a bit lifted her head from Nicole's shoulder. 

Nicole unwrapped her arms from Waverly, but let one hand rest on her back. With her other free arm, she handed Waverly the tissues that she had grabbed. 

Waverly gave a soft chuckle," Thanks."

Nicole rubbed Waverly's back before getting up and grabbing the milkshakes and fries that she got. "I got you these," she said holding them up. "Y'know, comfort food?"

Waverly smiled and gladly took her large chocolate milkshake from her hand. "Wow, thank you. I didn't realize how much I needed it," she said taking a sip. 

Nicole was about to open the bag when Waverly stopped her. 

"Ergh, um, no; no," she said getting up and heading towards her desk. "Not on the bed." She pulled out the desk chair and pulled over the plush round stool that was in her room for Nicole. 

Nicole laughed and set the bag down on her desk. 

"A bit neat are we?" Nicole said smirking. 

"Yeah, I'm kinda weird like that," Waverly said, trying to hide a smile. 

"I don't think it's weird," Nicole said calmly.

Waverly blushed and grabbed the bag and grabbed a fry and dipped it into her milkshake and gladly shoved it into her mouth. "Hm," she said chewing. "I'm so glad you introduced me to this."

"It's my guilty pleasure. I could have this every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But I don't want to die early and become fat. So I have to limit myself," she said taking a few fries and also dipping them into her milkshake. 

Waverly smiled," Ok, we really need to teach you how to cook. Cook  _healthy_ foods that are still delicious." 

Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled back," I don't think 'healthy', and 'delicious' go together in the same sentence."

"Well, grab a notepad girl, because you're about to get schooled," Waverly said shoving another fry into her mouth. 

Nicole smirked and raised her eyebrows," Oh really? You think you could make healthy food taste good?"

"Yes," Waverly said immediately. "I  _know_ I can."

"Alright, girl. I'm going to hold you to that."

Waverly smiled at her new friend. She didn't realize how much she needed this. She felt so much better. "Thanks for doing this, Nicole. I really needed it; I feel a lot better." 

"You're welcome. I know what it's like to get your heart broken. Life sucks sometimes. I know what works and what doesn't," she said holding up her milkshake. 

Waverly furrowed her brows," You've gotten your heart broken, too?"

The smile disappeared from her face, and she looked down, avoiding eye contact with Waverly. 

"I uh, I gotta go," she said grabbing her milkshake and coat. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I'll see you around," she said quickly making her way out of Waverly's room. 

"Wait, Nicole. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" but Nicole was already out the front door. She hopped back on her longboard and skated away, past to her house. She kept a basketball and shorts in her bag at all times and planned on going to the basketball hoops to get out some frustration. 

***

Nicole skated down the hill and back to her house; she was about to open the door when she heard _a lot_ of yelling and screaming from Waverly's house. She walked over to the white fence, their homes were extremely close, and she could make out most of the words coming from the big brown house. 

" _What the fuck is wrong with you, Wynonna!? You need to tell me these things! What is with you and keeping secrets!? I didn't think this day could get any worse!"_ Waverly yelled. 

" _Shut up, Waverly. I did this to protect you! I didn't want you to get any more hurt!"_ Wynonna yelled back. 

" _It's not possible for me to get any more hurt, I'm numb to the pain now. I'm hollow!"_ Waverly screamed. 

A quick thought of Nicole going back in there and comforting her crossed her mind, but she decided not to pry and walked back to her house. She was about to enter her house when her phone went off.

It was her basketball friend, Garrett. 

G:  _Party at my place, you down?_

N:  _Of course, be there in 5._

Nicole looked back at Waverly's house, considering if she should go in and try to break things up. But she decided it wasn't her place and that she'd let things settle down before she went to check up on Waverly. So she hopped back on her longboard and headed to her friend's party.

***

Nicole skated up to her house at 1 in the morning to find Waverly's garage door open, light on, and her packing things into her red jeep. She walked up to the fence, seeing if Waverly would notice her watching, which she didn't.

"What are you doing?" Nicole called out, leaning on the fence in front of her.

Waverly clutched her chest jumped. "Nicole, you have to stop doing that."

"What are you doing?" Nicole asked, a bit more demandingly this time. 

"Packing," Waverly said shortly. She grabbed a duffle bag near the door and threw it into the back of her jeep. 

"I see that," Nicole said softening her voice. "Packing for what?" 

"Nothing, none of your business. It's late you should be in bed," she said throwing her backpack into the car. 

"So should you," Nicole fired right back. She could see a hefty amount of bags in the back of Waverly's car. Wherever she was going, she was planning on staying for a while.

Waverly stopped packing the car and glared at her. "Just mind your business, please Nicole."

"Alright, fine," Nicole said, standing up straight. She slowly backed away from the fence and closer to her house. 

You could see relief come across Waverly's face. "Thank you." She closed her driver's seat door and headed back inside to grab a few things. Nicole took this as her chance to run inside and pack her things, she planned on joining Waverly. She  _was not_ letting her go alone, wherever shewas going. 

She packed about a million t-shirts, some nice, dress up shirts, jeans- ripped and not ripped, shorts, vans, a pair of sneakers, birks, underwear, and bras, her laptop and chargers, toiletries, and her blue, beat up blanket. And her wallet. She grabbed all of the cash stashed in the corner of her bed frame. It was almost 2,500 dollars that she saved up. Wherever Waverly was going Nicole was going to make sure she was prepared. She grabbed a huge duffle bag and could fit almost everything in there. She had to grab a smaller duffle bag for her shoes and toiletry items. She ran back downstairs with both duffle bags, backpack, and her longboard. She made sure that she didn't forget her longboard. She even grabbed her guitar, it was travel size so easy to fit in the back.

She somehow made it back before Waverly, even though it took her a solid five minutes to pack everything. She opened the back trunk and threw all of her bags in there, but carefully placed her guitar away from everything so it wouldn't be crushed. She opened the backseat doors and threw her backpack and longboard in there. And finally, she hopped into the passenger and shut the door behind her. She waited a few minutes, but Waverly finally came back out. 

"What the hell, Nicole?" Waverly asked with her keys and a bag of snacks in her hand. 

Nicole held out her hands in confusion," Coming with you, what does it look like?" 

"No!" Waverly said opening the driver's seat door. "No, you're not coming with me, get out!" 

Nicole shrugged her shoulders," Ok, I can call Sheriff Nedley, who will call your Aunt Gus. Your Aunt Gus will tell your sister, they'll both freak out, and eventually try and track your phone down, then your car, and then ask surrounding towns if they've seen a red jeep with  _your_ license plate. And if that doesn't work, they'll send out a missing person report," she said very calmly. 

Waverly pursed her lips in frustration; she wasn't sure if Nicole was telling the truth or if what she was saying was either true. But she didn't want to take her chances. 

"Fine," she said stepping into her car. "I hope you like road trips then," she said starting the car. 

"Love 'em," Nicole said nonchalantly. She buckled her seatbelt and put her legs up on the dashboard.

Waverly pulled out of the garage, closed the door, and drove out of their driveway, all rather fast. They drove in silence for a little bit, but Nicole was the first to break that silence. 

"So, what kinda snacks you got in here?" she asked opening the plastic bag. What she found was a pretty lame stash. She found sunflower seeds, an almost gone bag of potato chips, a few apples, and granola bars. Nicole groaned, there were no good snacks there for her. 

"What? Don't like sunflower seeds?" Waverly asked. 

"These aren't snacks," she said taking her seat down from the dashboard. "Stopped at the mini-mart, their open 24/7. I'll get us some  _real_ snacks."

Waverly rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile. "Fine, show me what  _real_ snacks are." She pulled into the mini-mart and parked the car, waiting for Nicole to get out. 

"C'mon girl, we have places to be," Waverly said, clapping her hands together to motive Nicole. 

"Ok, ok. I'm going," Nicole said unbuckling her seatbelt. 

"Oh, money," Waverly said grabbing some from the glove box. "Here." 

"Oh, I'm good," Nicole said holding up her wallet. "I got money." She closed the door and headed into the mini-mart. 

Waverly watched her walk in and blushed. She felt honestly a little  _flattered_ that Nicole packed for this trip, she had her wallet, her backpack and longboard was in the back. And Waverly even noticed unfamiliar bags in the trunk, which she assumed was Nicole. She liked the idea of having someone with her on this trip; she was glad she wasn't alone. 

Nicole didn't take long because she was walked out holding a big bag in one hand and a smaller bag in the other. She swung open the back door and moved the backpacks to Waverly's side and threw her longboard in the back. 

"I'll be back," Nicole said out of breath. She quickly walked back into the store and came back out with two big packs of water and put them in the backseat on the floor. She reached into the white plastic bag and took out a snack for herself and grabbed a water bottle. 

"Want some?" she asked climbing back onto the passenger's seat. 

"What are they?" Waverly asked turning towards Nicole. 

"Sour Patch Kids," Nicole said opening the bag and placing them in the middle of both of them. "Please tell me you've at least heard of Sour Patch Kids?" Nicole said, starting to get concerned at Waverly's small palate. 

"No, I have," she said turning back to the wheel and starting the car. "I just haven't tried them." 

Nicole dramatically dropped her jaw, "You've never tried them? C'mon, Waverly." 

Waverly giggled, "I'm sorry! I try not to eat super sugary things. And they seem gross anyways."

Nicole shook her head," They're not gross, here, try one," she said holding out the bag for Waverly. 

Waverly looked down and then back at the road, she was a bit hesitant. " Um, I'm good." 

Nicole sat up and held the bag closer," No, c'mon Waverly. We're going to try new things tonight. Er, well, this morning," she said looking at the clock that read 1:37. 

Waverly sighed and quickly looked back down at the bag. She slowly reached her hand in and pulled out a sour patch kid. Unsure of how she would feel about them. She took the smallest bite and started to smile and blush, shocked at how much she liked them. 

"See? You do like them, they’re good aren't they?" Nicole said sitting back in her seat and placing the bag in the middle of them. 

"Yes. I stand corrected, again," Waverly said. "But it's an eye-opener into your eating choices," she said laughing. 

"Hey! I'd like to have you know I am perfectly healthy, according to my doctor," Nicole said laughing too, grabbing a handful of sour patch kids. 

"Wonder what your doctor would think if she knew how bad you ate," Waverly said smirking. 

"Hey, I'm still holding you to your word of teaching me how to cook. The most I know is how to boil pasta, but the one time I tried I did it for too long, and the pasta became mush," Nicole said.

The one time she tried to cook something was pasta, she was planning on just being plain and simple and just doing butter. But she boiled the pasta for way too long, and by the time she came back to it, it was the consistency of baby food.

Waverly laughed," I could see that happening. I don't mean to brag, but I'm a pretty good cook." 

Nicole sat up in her seat and smirked," I think I'll be the judge of that." She smiled at the brunette sitting next to her, for the first time in a while; she felt like she had a friend. And it was a great feeling. 

"What are you smiling at?" Waverly asked, quickly turning her head towards Nicole and back to the road. 

"Nothing," Nicole said diverting her eyes to the floor of the car. She could feel herself getting red and hot. She turned on the radio, hoping to ease some of the arising tension between them.

She flipped to a popular channel that she listens to and the first song that came on was 'Dancing Queen.'

"Oh, no way! I love this song," she said turning it up. " _You are the dancing queen, only seventeen_ ," she started singing, which made Waverly smile.

"C'mon, Waverly, I know you know the words," she said, gently hitting the sides of Waverly's arm to get her to sing along.

Waverly giggled and quickly glanced at Nicole. "No," she said through giggles.

"Oh c'mon! _Feel that beat from the tambourine, oh yeah._ _You can dance_ ," Nicole sang, granted she wasn't Beyoncé, but she wasn't that bad. 

Waverly gave in and joined her, " _You can jive, having the time of your life."_ Waverly stopped there and started giggling again. 

Nicole, on the other hand, was shocked by how good Waverly was at singing. She turned down the radio and turned to Waverly, and her jaw legitimately dropped this time. 

"Waverly, you never told me you sing!" she said with excitement. 

Waverly blushed, " Because I don't." 

Nicole shook her head in disbelief. "No, that can’t be true. You have an amazing voice! Waverly tell me the truth!" 

Waverly smiled and rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. I sing a little around the house sometimes. But, I'm not  _that_ good."

"Waverly, yes you are, you have such a pretty voice," Nicole said turning the radio back up and sitting back in her seat. 

Waverly blushed, for what felt the hundredth time. "Thanks, but it's not my career choice." 

Nicole furrowed her brows, realizing how much she didn't know much about the brunette sitting next to her. 

"Then what is your career choice?" Nicole asked curiously.

"Not sure what, specifically. I just know I want to go into the medical field. Although, I have been thinking about maybe OB or running my own practice. I really have no idea," she said pulling into a motel. 

"A motel? I thought we were driving for a while, girl," Nicole said sitting up and turning off the radio. "You sure? This place isn't that far from town; if someone comes looking for you, this is going to be the first place they look. 

"Then we'll wake up early. I can promise my Aunt Gus is passed out somewhere drunk, probably one of her friend's house. And Wynonna never wakes up before 10, so we have more time," Waverly said taking her keys out of the ignition. 

"Alright," Nicole said unbuckling her seatbelt. "You got money?"

"Yeah, I was planning on leaving the moment I graduated, I've been saving up." Waverly opened the back seat drawer and grabbed her backpack, she grabbed Nicole's too and handed it to her. 

"Oh thanks," Nicole said slinging it over her shoulders. Nicole looked up the motel. The 'motel' sign was dirty and blinking; the doors were beaten down and chipped. The paint of the sides was coming off. And the only car in the parking lot was a rusted, old, disintegrated Honda. Long story short the place looked sketchy as hell. 

"Um, you sure about this, Waverly?" Nicole asked looking around. "This place is gross; I feel like we're going to get a disease staying here."

"I'm exhausted; I just want to sleep. And not parked on the side of the road somewhere, that's where people get murdered," Waverly said locking her car. 

"No,  _this_ is the place where people get murdered," she said pointing towards the motel. 

Waverly chuckled," Don't worry, I'll protect you," she mocked. "Big baby." 

Nicole gasped and pretended to be offended," I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I mean I've done it forever." 

Waverly furrowed her brows," What do you mean?"

Nicole quickly looked down and turned red. "Nothing." 

She opened the door for Waverly and let her walk in. They found the carper stained and full of dirt and a rather big man sitting at the front desk. He had slicked back, receding dark brown hair, he looked like Peter Clemenza from the 'Godfather,' but balder. 

"Oh boy," Nicole mumbled under her breath, letting the door close behind her. 

"Hi, we'd like a room, just for the night, well morning, please," Waverly said, reading the sign that said ‘night/morning stays 70$.’ She took out 70 dollars and placed it on the counter

The man sighed and looked up from the small TV he was watching, stared at Waverly for a second before doing something. 

"Alright," he grumbled, turning down the TV. He seemed slightly annoyed that Waverly had interrupted him and his TV. 

"Here's your room key," he said handing her a rather dirty key. "Room 20." He grabbed the money from the counter and turned up his TV, dismissing Waverly. 

Nicole guided Waverly out the door and walked down to the side of the motel and found their room. Waverly unlocked it, unsure of what they were going to encounter. But surprisingly, the bed was made, carpet in good shape, and the bed sheets looked clean. 

"Oh, I expected to come in here and find a dump. How's the bathroom though?" Waverly said throwing her stuff on the couch that was to the right of the door. She made a beeline to the bathroom and was also pleasantly surprised to find the bathroom nice and clean, including the shower. 

"Bathroom is nice, too. And it smells, clean," Waverly said smiling.

Nicole threw her stuff on the couch as well and opened the big brown hutch in front of their bed. She found a small TV, the remote, and a TV guide. The rest of it was empty drawers for clothes. 

"Wonder if this works," she said grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. "Ok, it turns on." She grabbed the TV guide and switched over the sports channel to see if there was anything on. Lucky for her a rerun of the Cavaliers vs. Raptors game that was live earlier in the day. Even though it was almost two in the morning, she kept it on anyway and took a seat at the end at the foot of the bed. 

"I'm going to take a shower, do you need to shower? Because you can go first if you want," Waverly said grabbing a towel from the closet. 

Nicole shook her head," No, it's ok. I'll shower after you." 

"Ok," Waverly said heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. 

Nicole couldn't shake the small feeling of wanting to be in the shower  _with_ her. A part of her was envious that there was a chance that Champ got to be with her, the thought of them hooking up, crossed her mind. But she shuddered at the thought and quickly dismissed it. 

"Who am I kidding? She's  _straight,_ " Nicole said mumbled to herself. "She's not into you, not any more than a friend. Don't get a straight girl crush, Nicole. Those never end well." Nicole sighed and took off her jacket. She opened her backpack and took out some clean pajama shorts and a t-shirt. She watched the game and patiently waited for her turn in the shower.

Nicole got halfway through the second quarter and then went to take her shower. She had to admit that it felt nice to get all the grime and sweat off her from earlier. She felt and smelled a lot better. 

"I really needed that," Nicole said coming out of the bathroom and pulling her shirt over her head and sports bra. 

" _Wow, she has nice abs. Like really nice,"_ Waverly thought to herself. She was starting to really enjoy Nicole's company. 

"Waverly?" Nicole asked, throwing her dirty clothes into her backpack that was lying on the couch. 

"What? Oh, yeah, I felt really gross, too. The shower was surprisingly nice and clean," she said getting up to throw her earrings in the small pocket of her backpack. 

"Yeah, it was nice," Nicole said taking her backpack off the couch and taking her blue blanket out. She sat down and grabbed a pillow and put it at one armrest; she was going to try to make a bed out of the couch. But the couch was too short for how tall Nicole was, so it was going to be a bit of a challenge. 

"What are you doing?" Waverly asked getting under the covers. "You can sleep in the bed with me, don't bother with the couch, motel couches are never comfortable anyway." 

"Are you sure?" Nicole said stopping setting up her makeshift bed. 

"Yeah, I don't mind," she said. She gave a small smile and patted the empty spot next to her. 

Nicole got up from the couch and took her blanket with her, taking the empty spot next to Waverly. As much as she wanted to respect Waverly's boundaries and personal space, she was thrilled Waverly invited her onto the bed. 

"Thanks," she said getting under the bedsheets. 

"What's the story with the blanket?" she said looking at the blue blanket that was being firmly held by Nicole.

"Uh, it's- um," Nicole was stuttering over her words. The blue blanket was very worn and very old, but it had a lot of sentimental value. And Nicole hated talking about her feelings. Hated. It.

"Nicole, I'm not going to judge you. I don't do that; I'm all ears. This is my turn to comfort you," she said moving closer to the redhead. 

Nicole gave a sad smile but didn't look up at Waverly. "Thank you, Waves. It's just; it's hard for me to talk about my feelings. I'm not a fan of it. But, I appreciate it, I really do. You're the first real friend I feel like I have." 

Waverly smiled and rubbed Nicole's back. "Well, I'm always here. You can talk to me whenever you want. And, you're not so bad yourself, friend," Waverly said with a smirk. She moved back to her side and turned off the lamp light on the bedside table and laid down and pulled the covers older her shoulders. "Goodnight, Nicole." 

"Night," Nicole said quietly. Her lamp on her bedside was still on, and she was still sitting up in bed. She stayed like that for a few minutes, just thinking, but she finally decided that it's best she get some sleep, too. So she turned off her lamp and laid down, and made herself comfortable. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt comforted. For once in her life, she didn't feel alone. 

****

Nicole awoke to the sound of the toilet flushing. She opened her eyes and grabbed her phone that was charging on the bedside table. It read 9:42. She was a little confused because she thought that Waverly wanted to leave early. 

"Morning, sleepyhead," Waverly said smiling and walking out of the bathroom. She was wearing nothing but a sports bra and short pajama shorts. 

"Morning," Nicole said with a raspy morning voice. " _Holy shit, I didn't realize how jacked she was. Just add that to the list of reasons why I'm so damn attracted to her._ " Nicole thought. She couldn't stop staring out how defined and toned Waverly's arms were, and perfectly chiseled abs. he

"I think we should get going pretty soon, like within the next 15 minutes. So if you want to shower again, I suggest you do that now," Waverly said packing everything up in her backpack. 

Nicole snapped out of her trance and nodded. "How long have you been awake?" 

"Like 20 minutes," Waverly said, throwing away some trash from her backpack. "I haven't been up that long."

"I thought you wanted to hit the road early?" Nicole asked getting out of bed. 

"I did, I set my alarm for 7, but that didn't phase you, and I realized that we both should probably get some more sleep." Waverly grabbed her shirt from the couch and threw it on, much to Nicole's dismay. "And we're far enough away from town that it'd take a while to come and try and find us.

Nicole went over to her stuff and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, "I'll be back," she said heading into the bathroom. 

Waverly watched as Nicole walked off to the bathroom. " _Nice ass,_ " she thought to herself. She couldn't help but giggle at the butterflies in her stomach, but that quickly dissipated because knowing she looked at Nicole that way, which freaked her out. 

She reached into the small pocket of her backpack and grabbed her earrings and put them back in. She looked over at the messy, unmade bed and realized how much the bed bothered her, so she went over and neatened it up a little, making the job easier for whoever was cleaning up after them. 

"Wow, neat freak," Nicole teased as she came out of the bathroom. 

"Hey, I'm not a neat freak, I just like things to be clean," Waverly said throwing the pillow in the right spot. 

"Mhm," Nicole said as she whipped off her dirty shirt. She threw it in her backpack and pulled out another clean one. 

Waverly caught herself staring again, but she stopped herself before Nicole could notice, _and_ so she could start to leave the place. 

"You ready?" Waverly asked throwing the backpack over her shoulder and turning around. 

"Almost," Nicole said, taking off her shorts and throwing on a pair of Nike running ones. 

Waverly made sure to turn around the moment Nicole dropped her shorts to her ankles. As much as she wanted to peek, she didn't. She wanted to respect Nicole's privacy. 

Nicole chuckled when she saw Waverly turn around. "You don't have to turn around, we're both girls," she said zipping up her backpack and putting one strap on her shoulder. 

"I know, but I didn't want to be, like, perverted," Waverly said taking out her keys. Nicole laughed, "You're not being perverted, I don't mind. But if it makes you uncomfortable..." '

"No it doesn't, just respecting you," Waverly said with a small smile. She did feel a little better at the fact that Nicole didn't find it creepy. 

"I appreciate that, thank you, Waves," Nicole said throwing on a pair of Birkenstocks, the most expensive shoes Nicole owned. "You want me to drive for a little?" 

Waverly looked down at her keys and backed up at Nicole; she felt a little relieved that she didn't have to drive. "Yes, please." 

Nicole nodded and grabbed the keys from Waverly's hand and once again opened the door for her. "After you m'lady," she said holding out her hand, gesturing for Waverly to head out the door. 

"M'lady, eh?" Waverly said smirking. 

"Of course, gotta treat the ladies right," Nicole said shutting the door behind her. 

" _She's gotta treat me right,"_ Waverly said smiling to herself. " _That's kinda... cute._ "

"What do you want for breakfast?" Nicole said joining Waverly's side while they walked to the door. "Fast food? Or we could stop at a diner somewhere." 

Waverly got into the passenger seat and thought for a second. "A diner sounds nice; we've kinda been eating junk food snacks. A sit-down place sounds nice."

"Diner it is," Nicole said starting the car. "Um, do you know a diner around here?" 

Waverly laughed, "No, I don't. Maybe we can drive around until we find one." Waverly had just planned on driving, not having any idea where she was going. She honestly just wanted to get away from Purgatory and not know where she was going, so no one could try and look for her. 

"Well, hopefully, we find something soon. I'm starving," Nicole said pulling out of the motel. "But you do know that diner's don't have many healthy options, right?"

Waverly nodded, "Yeah, I know. But a solid meal is better than snacks." 

"True," Nicole said, speeding up on the road. 

"Slow down, Nicole. We don't want to get arrested for speeding, the speed limit is 40," Waverly said as she read the speedometer, which said 65 and not 40. 

"I don't see any cops around," Nicole said, rolling all the windows down. "It's a beautiful day outside, let loose a little Waverly." 

Waverly rolled her eyes; she didn't like rolling the windows down because she felt naked without the protection of the windows. 

"No, Nicole, please roll them up. I don't like having the windows down, let alone all four of them," Waverly asked pleadingly. 

"Not happening," Nicole said, speeding faster and turning on the radio. 'Ignition (Remix)' by R. Kelly came on, she turned it all the way up and started to bring the speedometer from 90 to 110. 

"Nicole! Slow down; we're gonna die!" Waverly said clinging to the side of the door. 

Nicole ignored her and went even faster; there was nothing but road and mountains for miles. The road wasn't busy, so Nicole figured doing it this once wouldn't do any harm. 

"Sing with me, Waves!  _Runnin' her hands through my fro, bouncin on 24,"_ Nicole sang. Waverly couldn't help but smile, and caved in and sang along. 

" _It's the remix to ignition, hot and fresh out the kitchen, mama rollin' that body, got every man in here wishin', sippin' on coke and rum, I'm like so what I'm drunk, it's the freakin' weekend baby, I'm about to have me some fun,"_ They both sang together. 

Nicole exited off the highway and stopped at the red stop light. She pulled up next to two very immature, young men right next to her with their windows rolled down, too. 

"Yo! Ladies, nice tits! Take them out for me! Follow my car back to my place; we'll have a foursome. We'll make you ladies cum so hard you'll be begging us for more!" the one in the driver's seat yelled out. 

"I'm already hard!" the one in the passengers also yelled out. They both started moaning and making sex noises; they thought it was hilarious. Waverly and Nicole, on the other hand, thought it wasn't funny. At. All. 

Waverly's smile immediately fell, and she could feel herself getting hot. "Roll up the windows, now, Nicole," she demanded.

Nicole did as she was told and rolled them up as fast as she could. She turned off the radio and looked over at Waverly. She could tell that Waverly was getting visibly upset. Her face was extremely pained, and it looked like she was about to burst into tears. Nicole felt awful; she felt like this whole trip was her upsetting Waverly. She was wondering if was a good idea that she even came along. 

She wanted to get Waverly out of there as quick as possible, so she ran the red light and made her left turn. Thankfully there weren't any cars close enough to hit them. 

"Waverly, I'm sorry, I-" Nicole tried apologized, but Waverly cut her off. 

"It's fine," Waverly snapped. "Just get us to the diner please?" 

Nicole nodded and didn't say anything more. She honestly didn't know what to say; she hated that she upset Waverly. She ignored the speed limit and tried to get them there as fast as possible. 

She quickly pulled into the 'Starlight Diner' parking lot and parked near the door. 

"We're here," Nicole said, turning off the car. 

Waverly didn't say anything but quickly got out of the car and rushed into the diner, making a beeline for the bathroom. 

Nicole was about to call out and stop her, but she realized they were in a very public place. She didn't say anything, letting Waverly go to the bathroom, she didn't want to embarrass her or upset her even more. So she just went inside and grabbed them a booth. 

Waverly came out a few minutes later; she tried to hide the fact that she had been crying. But Nicole could tell, easily. She knew exactly what it looked like. 

"Waves, I'm so sorry," Nicole said getting up from her seat. 

"It's fine," Waverly said quickly sitting down and grabbing a menu. 

A waitress walked up to their booth and took out her notepad, "Good morning, I'm Jen. What can I get for you ladies?"

Nicole looked at Waverly, trying to figure out if she was ok to order. But she spoke up almost immediately. 

"I'll just have pancakes and a side of hash browns and bacon," Waverly said. She usually never ate this much, but she ate her feelings. She knew it was an awful habit, but sometimes it just made her feel better, to eat. 

"I'll have toast, eggs over easy, and hashbrowns. Oh and a side of bacon, as well please," Nicole said handing her their menus. "And two coffees."

"Coming right, up," she said writing the last of the order and taking the menus. 

The moment their waitress was gone, Nicole turned to Waverly. She wanted to apologize, she felt like complete shit for upsetting Waverly. 

"I'm sorry, I should've listened to you and not roll the windows down. And go the speed limit, I'm so sorry, Waves. I have that I upset you," Nicole said reaching out her hands to touch Waverly's. But Waverly pulled back, and you could tell that it just upset her more. 

"I don't want to talk about it," Waverly said sharply. "I'm fine," she said with a softer tone. "Really. Please? Just leave it alone?" 

Nicole sighed, and her heart dropped, she hated leaving things unresolved. But she didn't want to push so she left it be and waited for their breakfast to come. 

The rest of the meal and the drive was extremely painful. Waverly didn't want to talk, Nicole did, which caused a lot of tension between the two of them. Despite the radio being on, the drive still felt completely silent. Nicole was afraid to turn the radio off because things would become even more silent and even more uncomfortable.

Every rest stop, little to no words were exchanged between the two of them, Waverly didn't say anything to Nicole, just stayed on her phone and ate the snacks she had bought earlier that morning. Nicole ended up driving for the rest of the day. They drove for 14 hours before Nicole finally decided to stop for the night. But instead of it being a motel, it was a very nice, fancy looking hotel. 

"Waverly," she said shaking the sleeping brunette next to her. "Wake up; we're here." Waverly opened her eyes and let out a big yawn, looking at everything around her. 

"Where are we?" she asked, stretching her arms awkwardly in the car. 

"A hotel," she said unbuckling and grabbing her small duffle bag and her backpack from the back.

"Hotel? Isn't that kinda expensive?" Waverly asked, getting out of the passenger's seat. 

"Don't worry about it," Nicole said calmly. She stood in front of the car, waiting for Waverly to get her things before, locking the car. 

They walked in silence toward the hotel doors. You could tell that it was fancy and expensive, because they had big, glass doors, with gold accents. And everyone inside was either wearing a suit or some type of uniform.

The receptionists behind the counter smiled at the two of them.

"Hello, ladies. How may I help you this evening?" he asked very politely.

"Hi, we'd just like one room please for an overnight stay," Nicole said taking out her wallet.

"Ok, just one room? Any amenities you'd like?" he asked, typing on his computer. 

"No thank you, just the room please," she said firmly. She took out her credit card and handed it to him.

"Alright, your total is 570.95." He swiped her card and handed the card back with their room key. Waverly was a bit shocked at one, the fact that Nicole paid for that with no sweat on her brow and two- the fact that Nicole paid for that. 

"Enjoy you guys," he said sitting back down at his desk. 

"Nicole, that's so expensive. I mean, like, how?" Waverly asked, shocked by how Nicole could afford that, especially for being a high school student. 

Nicole laughed at how straightforward Waverly was with that question. "My aunt, she's pretty rich, and I'm attached to her bank account. I don't really use the card that much, though." She looked back down at the room key and saw that it read 197b which meant that they had to take four turns until they go to their room. They walked in silence, both of them unsure what to say. 

They arrived at their room, and Nicole quickly unlocked the door, wanting to get to bed as soon as possible. 

They both walked in and threw their bags on the couch. Nicole opened her bag and grabbed some pajama clothes and her toiletry bag. 

"I'm taking a shower. You want to go first?" she asked.

Waverly shook her head no and sat at the edge of one bed. " _Thank God, there only two beds_ ," she thought to herself. 

"Ok," Nicole mumbled and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door hard behind her. 

Waverly sighed and undressed and changed into her pajamas. She hated that things were now so awkward between them. She liked the fact that she wasn't alone through this road trip. But that feeling was fading the more the tension grew between them.

She opened the hutch to reveal a 48 inch TV. She grabbed the remote and got under the covers. She turned on HGTV. Home fixer- uppers and interior design always seemed to calm her down. But this time, it wasn't. The sound of the water hitting the bathtub floor distracted her. All she could think about was the fact that it felt like she never met Nicole at all. She felt hollow like she was traveling with a stranger. 

Thank God Nicole didn't take her time in the shower. Waverly was glad to be the one to take a shower so she could try and lose herself in thought and be able to get clean while doing it. 

The was no interaction between the two of them. Nicole walked out of the bathroom and Waverly walked into the bathroom. No words were exchanged or anything. Nicole brushed her hair and turned off the TV. She got into her bed and shut off the lamp lights, hoping to get some sleep. 

She shut her eyes and tried to become drowsy and fall asleep, but she couldn't. The only thing that was going through her mind was what happened earlier and the growing tension between them. She laid there for what seemed like forever, but Waverly finally came out of the shower. She brushed her hair and put some lotion on her legs, before getting on her bed and turning off the lamplight on her bedside table. 

Waverly thought Nicole was asleep because a few minutes after all the lights went out Nicole heard soft sobs coming from her right. She turned over and faced Waverly's bed. Waverly immediately stopped crying and waited a few seconds before starting to cry again.

Nicole's heart broke, she hated that she hurt Waverly so much, she was fighting hard with her conscious. She was stuck between giving her space and considering that Waverly might not want to be near her right now. And her other thought was to go over there right at this second and hold her, comfort her, and tell her it would be alright.

She decided to go with the latter, taking her chances, knowing Waverly's reaction could be good or bad. She slowly sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute, and all she could hear was her heartbeat and her breathing. Her hands were clammy, and she could feel herself getting hot. She was extremely nervous about what she was about to do. 

Waverly was so deep in thought she didn't hear Nicole get out of bed because she continued to cry. She snapped out of it when she felt Nicole get into her bed, but that didn't stop the tears from falling. 

Nicole wasn't sure if Waverly would fight it, but she wrapped her arms around Waverly pulled her to her chest so that Waverly was curled up on her side; sobbing into her chest, getting tears all over Nicole and her shirt. Waverly had her arms held close to her chest, but she extended them a little bit and grabbed a fistful of Nicole's shirt, she pulled herself even closer to Nicole, burying her head into the crook of Nicole's neck. The tears didn't stop, and she was crying even harder at this point. 

Nicole held her tight and started to rub her back, that's when she realized that Waverly was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and shorts. Nicole loved the fact that Waverly was curled up on top of her, holding each other close. But she hated the circumstances that they were under. This is not how she wanted to hold Waverly, with her bawling her eyes out, sad beyond belief. She wanted to hold Waverly and talk about their futures together, their hopes and dreams. But she couldn't control the future, so she just held Waverly, rubbing her back, trying to get her to stop crying. 

"Shh, Waves. It's going to be ok. I promise, I'm here. I'm right here, you're ok," Nicole said, repeating those words and any words to try and get Waverly to feel better. She continued to rub her back and hold her tight. At this point, she didn't care about boundaries, because she placed a very soft and tender kiss on top of Waverly's head. She laid there for the rest of the night, comforting Waverly and letting her fall asleep on top of her, holding her and telling her everything was going to be ok. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a chapter haha! I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Let me know how this one turned out!!


	3. Stop Doing This To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly talk about everything, things don't turn out like they expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the nice comments on the last chapter! It really motivates me to keep writing! xx :)

Nicole woke up at 8:58 AM. Waverly was peacefully asleep in Nicole's arms, her eyes were still a little puffy from all the crying the night before. Nicole was very much uncomfortable with the way she and Waverly were laying together, but she didn't mind. She loved having Waverly in her arms. 

Waverly started to stir in her sleep, Nicole was hoping that they could stay like this a little longer. But Waverly opened her eyes and looked up at Nicole, still curled up on her side. 

"Morning," Nicole said, giving her a small, sympathetic smile. 

Waverly gave a small, lip smile back; a smile that gave Nicole butterflies. 

Waverly got off of Nicole and sat up in their bed and rubbed her eyes. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked around the room, then back at Nicole. 

"How are you feeling?" Nicole said, sitting up and turning to Waverly. 

"Ok, I just feel super congested and gross," Waverly said rubbing her eyes again. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nicole asked, unsure of Waverly's reaction to the question. 

Waverly sighed and sat there and thought. She knew exactly what happened last night and she had mixed emotions on it. Part of her felt relieved that Nicole held her last night, the other part was freaked out that Nicole held her last night. But the thought of being with anyone else right now didn't appeal to her and knowing she felt that way really freaked her out. 

"Before Champ and I were dating, he used to say things to me like, well pretty much what those guys in the car next to us said. He was always telling me that I had nice tits and a nice ass," Waverly said somberly. 

Nicole nodded, not knowing what else to say. 

"And I hated it, I hated that the only person that seemed to want me wanted my body," Waverly said, staring at the wall. She shifted herself so that she was sitting more upright. 

"Why did you go out with him? You obviously didn't like him," Nicole asked. She moved closer to Waverly and placed her hand atop of hers and brought them both to Nicole's knee. She was letting her know that she was there for her. 

"Everyone was telling me to go out with him. I mean, Wynonna said it was a bad idea, from juvy. And if Wynonna thinks it's a bad idea, then it's a bad idea," Waverly said, looking at Nicole. Her eyes were misty and vulnerable, Nicole had never seen that look on her before. 

"And I knew it wasn't a good idea, but, peer pressure, y'know? Everyone was saying 'Oh go out with him! He's the captain of the football team, you'll become so popular!' When he asked me out halfway through sophomore year, I said yes. It was the worst decision I ever made, I wanted to break up with him before we were even going out," Waverly looked down at took her hand back from Nicoles. She started to play with the little fray at the end of the bed sheets. 

"And throughout the whole relationship, he treated me like an object. All he ever complimented me on was my body, never personality, never anything that wasn't physical. He lied to his friends and told them all that about all the times we hooked up," Waverly said.

"Did you, um..." Nicole asked, unsure how rude she was being.

"Hook up? God no," Waverly said. "No, I would never waste my virginity on someone like him. The only reason he really dated me was that he liked having me on his arm. But I hated it." Waverly's voice started to quiver and her breath was shaky.

"And when those guys said that stuff the other day, it reminded me of Champ," she said. Her voice faltered at the end of her sentence and tears started to fall from her eyes. Nicole's heart broke again and she moved closer to Waverly and wrapped her arm around her waist. 

"And it reminded me of how worthless I felt being with him and how I felt so unimportant," Waverly said. She started crying and the tears were falling fast. 

Nicole wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close. He gently stroked her long brown hair. Waverly sunk into Nicole's embrace and laid her head in the crook of Nicole's neck, getting tears all over her. 

"Waves, you're  _not_ worthless. You are so important and so loved, it breaks my heart that he treated you like that. If we were back in Purgatory I'd go back and beat his ass. Don't let him get to you, you're so much worth than you know. And you are wanted, by so many people and you don't even know it," Nicole said softly. 

Waverly lifted her head and looked at Nicole, eyes red and tears slowly rolling down her face. 

"Like who?" she asked in disbelief. 

"For starters," Nicole said, giving her a small smile and wiping a tear away with the pad of her thumb. "Me. I want you here, you're wanted by me." Nicole held her breath after what she just said, anticipating Waverly's answer. 

"Really?" Waverly said, a small smile forming across her face. 

"Of course. You're _so_ smart and funny. You're sweet and I've never seen you judge anyone without knowing them, not even me and we all know the reputation that I have. And you apologize for everything, it's adorable," Nicole said looking away from Waverly, getting a little sidetrack and just saying whatever came out of her mouth. 

Waverly tried to hide the big smile across her face she turned away and hoped that her face wasn't too red.

"That's not true," Waverly said, playfully hitting Nicole's arm.

"Hell yes, it is," Nicole said. "For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a friend. You gave me a chance, and I'm so thankful for that." Now Nicole was the one getting teary eyed. 

"We should get going, huh?" Nicole said getting up from the bed. She decided that that was enough of talking about her feelings for the day. 

Waverly smirked and got out of the bed as well. "What? Enough talking about our feelings?"

"Yes," Nicole answered immediately. She gave a small chuckle before grabbing some clothes from her bag. 

"Nicole?" Waverly asked coming closer. 

Nicole turned around and faced Waverly. "Yeah?"

"Thank you," Waverly said looking down. "For last night. It made me feel a lot better. I really appreciate it."

Nicole smiled, "I'm glad it made you feel better. I know when I'm upset the only thing I want is to be held. So, I get it."

Waverly smiled and walked up to her new friend and pulled her into a hug, which surprised Nicole because she thought Waverly was still a bit timid of her. 

"Do you want to walk around town for a little bit?" Nicole asked, pulling away from Waverly. "I mean, we woke up at a decent hour. We can go out for breakfast and stretch our legs before we hit the road again. From what I saw last night, this place is pretty small and their main street is filled with a lot of stores." 

"Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun," Waverly said grabbing some clothes from her bag. "Let me just get ready," she said walking into the bathroom with toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, clothes in the other hand. 

Nicole smiled at the fact that now they were officially friends. And damn it felt nice to know that she had a friend. She grabbed her hairbrush and started to brush her hair when Waverly walked back out of the bathroom. 

She was wearing a white off the shoulder crop top, ripped light jean shorts, and her Birkenstocks. Her hair was in a half up half down look, bun atop of her head and letting her loosely curled hair fall on her shoulders. She was wearing no makeup, which Nicole thought was her even sexier. 

Waverly took Nicole's breath away, she couldn't stop staring at how fucking beautiful Waverly Earp was. She was stunning. 

"Holy crap," Nicole said standing up straighter. "I didn't realize how, um, good you look in crop tops." 

"Thank you," she said blushing. "I wear them a lot in the summer. Wynonna said she doesn't want me wearing them because she doesn't want anyone to think that 'her baby sister is up for grabs.' "

"Well, I don't think there's a problem with them," Nicole said, taking off her shirt and throwing on a black cropped t-shirt. She grabbed some jean shorts on and threw those on to, along with her black checkered Vans.  

"Did you see anything nice for breakfast on your way here?" Waverly asked packing up her stuff. "I think I saw some cafe downtown, not entirely sure though. It was exhausted last night, so I was seeing a lot of things." Nicole grabbed her toiletry bag. "We can talk more but let me brush my teeth, I hate morning breath." She made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for the day. 

" _Holy shit, why does she do that? Go ahead Waverly, make me even more attracted to you. I don't think I'll be getting over her anytime soon,"_ Nicole thought while putting some toothpaste on her toothbrush. Waverly was making it impossible for her to not pin her up against the bed and kiss her. 

" _Jesus Christ. Nicole, and her abs... she needs to stop flashing those!"_ Waverly thought as she zipped up her backpack. " _What is wrong with me? Am I attracted to girls now? I've never been attracted to any girl ever before, but, Nicole, I can't stop thinking about her."_

"What are you in the mood for?" Nicole said walking out of the bathroom. 

"Anything really. I don't have a preference," Waverly said throwing her backpack over her shoulder. "I'm not super picky." 

"Well, I hope this place has crepes. God, I love crepes, oh Nutella crepes," Nicole said dreamingly. "So. Good." 

"Never had those before either," Waverly said. She laughed when Nicole stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned her head to look at Waverly. 

"Ok, this is getting a little ridiculous," Nicole said. "You've never had milkshakes and fries, never had Sour Patch Kids, and now crepes! Are bread and water all you eat?!" 

Waverly smirked," Um, nooo. I'm just,  a picky eater. I'm very plain." 

Nicole smacked her head into hands. "Ok, what we're going to work on in this trip, is getting you to try new foods." She put her backpack on and zipped up her duffle bag. 

"Good luck with that," Waverly said slyly. She followed Nicole out of their room and down the hallway. "I don't like trying new foods."

"Well that's gotta change," Nicole said, making her way down the long hallway and to the lobby. "It's gotta get boring being plain. Food wise, I mean."

"I know what you meant," Waverly said with a smile. "It doesn't get boring. I'm perfectly fine with simple foods." 

Nicole opened the lobby door for Waverly, letting her go first. Waverly's stomach got butterflies every time Nicole did something chivalrous for her, every little thing really, gave her butterflies. 

"Why thank you," Waverly said.

"No problem, m'lady," Nicole said following Waverly to the car. "Although, the plain foods thing really does have to change." 

"So I take it you're a daring person?" Waverly asked, unlocking the car and throwing her bags in the back. 

"I like to think so yes," Nicole said. "When you've been living on your own for as long as I have, with no parental supervision, you tend to do stupid stuff." She threw her bags in the back and got in the drives seat. 

"I can drive if you want," Waverly said. 

"No, it's fine. I like driving," Nicole said, taking the keys from Waverly's hands. 

"How long have you been living on your own?" Waverly asked, cautious about how Nicole might've taken the question. 

Nicole turned on the car and backed out of their parking space, she didn't answer until they were on the main road. 

"Since I was 10. I'm what 17 now? So 7, almost 8 years," Nicole said very quietly. You could tell by the tone in her voice and sad look in her eyes that this was a very hard topic for her to talk about. 

"Oh," Waverly said, not really knowing what to say. "I'm sorry you had to, um, do that?"

Nicole chuckled at the uneasiness in Nicole's voice. "It's ok, you can ask questions. You told me something hard so I guess I should return the favor. Don't worry, you won't offend me, ask away." 

"Ok," Waverly said, relieved that Nicole didn't take her question in a bad way. "Well, why have you been living on your own since 10?" 

"My parents died," she said quietly. The nice scenic drive into town calmed her nerves down. 

"From what?" Waverly asked before she could stop herself. "Oh, I'm sorry. If that's too personal, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to." 

"No, it's fine. My mom, died, um, of cancer," Nicole said with a shaky voice. 

"Nicole, I'm so sorry," Waverly said, her heart broke for Nicole.  

"It's ok. She fought for a long time, we both knew it was coming. It was hard, but it wasn't like it was out of the blue," Nicole said making a right turn. They were passing through a neighborhood, so they knew that they were near town. 

"What about your dad?" Waverly asked while Nicole pulled into a parking spot in front of a cute little café. They didn't get out of the car right away, Nicole kept staring at her hands in her lap. 

"Well, when my mom died, my dad became super depressed," Nicole said, taking a pause, she took a deep breath in.

Nicole opened the door and got out of the car, her growling stomach couldn't take it anymore and just needed food. Waverly followed, letting Nicole go at her own pace and tell her the rest when she was ready. 

"Wanna grab a seat outside?" Nicole asked, gesturing toward the metal table and chairs outside in front of the café. 

Waverly smile and nodded, she followed Nicole to this two-person table under the awning. Nicole pulled out the chair for Waverly and pushed her in, which again, gave Waverly butterflies. 

They grabbed the menus that were in the holder at the edge of the table. And thankfully, they did have crepes. 

"Oh my God, they do have crepes," Nicole said with a smile forming on her face. 

"Welcome to Café Le Ritz, I'm Lily and I'll be your server. What can I get for you ladies today?" their waitress asked with a friendly smile. 

"Can I have the Nutella and banana crepes, please? And a cup of coffee," Nicole asked, putting her menu back where it originally was. 

"I'll just have some avocado toast, half a grapefruit, and 2 pieces of bacon and a cup of coffee," Waverly said. "Thank you."

"Ok, that will be ready soon," their waitress said heading back inside the café.

Waverly looked at Nicole, wondering if she was going to say anything more about her past. Nicole didn't look at Waverly, she was too ashamed, but she continued anyway. 

"My dad used to tell me 'If you ever have any problems, you come to us and we'll figure it out together. Don't go doing anything stupid that you're going to regret. We'll get help and get through it,' " Nicole said with a sad laugh. But that laugh quickly dissipated as she continued talking about her past. 

"And yet, he went and killed himself and did the exact opposite of what he told me," Nicole said playing with her napkin. 

"Here you ladies are," their waitress said, setting down two coffee mugs and some cream. She quickly walked away, which was good for Nicole in case she started to cry. 

"He hung himself from the balcony that overlooked our living room. I remember coming home from school, I wanted to watch Spongebob Squarepants. I walk into the living room and find my father, just, dangling there. I had just turned 10," Nicole wiped a small tear that fell from her eye. 

"It sucked, I was so confused and didn't know what to do. So I called the police, but after that, everything was a blur," she said. 

Waverly didn't know what to say. Her head was swimming with emotions, she wanted to kiss Nicole and wrap her in her arms and tell her it was going to be ok. Oh boy did she want to kiss her. 

"Nicole, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. That must've been awful," Waverly said getting up to give her a hug.

"It's ok, really. It's in the past now," Nicole said grabbing a napkin to dry her eyes. But before she could she was embraced by Waverly who bent down to give her hug.

"Waverly, you didn't need to give me a hug. I promise I'm fine," Nicole said.

"I want to," Waverly said over Nicole's shoulder, still tightly hugging her. It was a very awkward position for both of them, but they didn't care. They never realized how much they needed human contact right. 

Waverly had such a need to be the person that Nicole confided in, that she talked to, that she loved. She wanted to be Nicole's person. 

Waverly let go of Nicole and intended to sit in her seat, but ended up gazing into her eyes, her beautiful, deep brown eyes. The moment their eyes locked, time stopped and it felt like they were the only ones in the world. Nicole desperately wanted to wrap the brunette in her arms and kiss her. But she knew that it wouldn't be smart. It took everything inside of her to not lean in and kiss her. 

" _She's straight, dumb fuck,"_ Nicole thought to herself. " _Let's not do something stupid._ " 

" _All I want to do is kiss her,"_ Waverly thought. " _But she's not interested in me that way. She's straight."_

"Sorry," Waverly said, sitting back in her seat. "Got a little distracted there."

"It's ok," Nicole said taking a sip of her coffee. "See any shops here you like?" Nicole asked changing the subject. "I think I saw a little gift shop down there somewhere," she said looking down the street. 

"Oh I love gift shops. They always have cute handmade stuff and I love it," Waverly said smiling. 

Nicole couldn't help but smile too, she thought it was adorable the way Waverly's eyes crinkled whenever she talked about something that she loved. There were so many things that Nicole loved about Waverly, she had never felt this strongly about anyone before. She knew she was getting herself into trouble, develop feelings for a straight girl. 

Their breakfast was great, it was filled with a lot of conversation and a lot of laughing.

After their breakfast they got up and walked around town, they went into that gift shop and Waverly lit up, going from item to item, she had to resist the urge to buy everything in there. Nicole thought it was so cute, she swooned at the sight of a happy Waverly. They went from store to store, browsing and buying. 

They went into a little clothing store, it was knock off brand stuff but cute nonetheless. While Waverly was looking at some handbags some guy walked up to her and wouldn't leave her alone. 

"That handbag looks like it's from the 1800s," he said, looking at the jeans that were next to her.

"Yeah, not sure why I'm still looking," Waverly said, turning to face him. 

"I'm Luke," he said extending his hand. 

"I'm Waverly," she said, shaking his warm, clammy hand. 

He was tall and had short dark brown hair. He was wearing expensive vineyard vines shorts and a light blue polo top. Waverly thought he was cute, but where near as cute as Nicole. 

"So, you from around here? This town is pretty small, I haven't seen you here before," he said with a smile. 

"No, I'm just passing by," Waverly said looking down at the ground. 

Nicole noticed them talking out of the corner of her eye. She was watching the whole interaction between them and she couldn't help but feel extremely jealous. She wanted to be the one to make Waverly laugh, not him. 

"Would you want to go get coffee with me? There's this great little hole in the wall place just across the street," he said, gesturing toward the door. 

Waverly blushed, but she wasn't in the mood to get coffee, with anyone- but Nicole. 

"No thank you," she said giving a forced smile. "I appreciate it but I've had enough coffee for the day." 

"Oh c'mon, Waverly. Loosen up, they have tea too," he said, giving a sinister looking. smile. You could see the desperation in his eyes. 

"No, I'm good," Waverly said a bit more firmly this time. She just wanted him to go away. 

Nicole could see how uncomfortable Waverly was becoming, so she decided to step in and help her out. 

"Babe, you find anything good?" Nicole said wrapping her arm around Waverly's waist. 

" _Babe? Her arm, around my waist? What is she doing?"_ Waverly thought to herself, giving Nicole a very puzzled look. 

"Who are you?" he asked, his face turning from happy to angry, very quickly. 

"Her girlfriend. And I can see you're bothering her. So I'd really appreciate it if you left," Nicole said forcefully. 

" _Girlfriend? Fuck, I really like the way that sounds. I'm Nicole's girlfriend,"_ Waverly thought to herself. She couldn't help but smile and blush, even though this was fake she really liked the idea of it. 

"What? You guys are together?" he asked appalled. 

"Yes, we are. And please leave before I do something I regret," Nicole said, turning herself and Waverly back around. 

"Oh really, like what? You could some dike, redhead possibly do?" he asked, getting closer and standing tall so he would seem more intimidating. 

Nicole grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and pushed upward on his arm; causing a lot of pain and stress on his shoulder. 

"Ah! Ow! What the fuck?!" he asked, wincing in pain. 

"I suggest you leave us alone before I snap your arm off. Because I can do that," Nicole whispered in his ear. She let go of his arm but not before pushing him away from both of them. 

" _Holy fuck, that was hot. Jesus Christ,"_ Waverly thought. She could feel her butterflies getting worse and worse. 

He glared at them but decided it was smart to leave so he stormed out of the store. 

"Thank God," Nicole said. She turned to Waverly and smiled. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Waverly said smiling back. "I didn't realize how, um, forceful you were." 

"Well, you learn some stuff when you love on your own- at 10," Nicole said placing her hand lightly on Waverly's back and guided her out the store. 

"Quick thinking there, babe," Waverly joked. She giggled and shoved her hands in her pocket, she had to admit she was a bit embarrassed by what just came out of her mouth. 

Nicole laughed, but seriously wished that it was real, that Waverly was her girlfriend. She wish she could hold her, kiss her, hold her hand, go out with her, get drunk with her, she wanted to do everything with Waverly. Sometimes it physically hurt Nicole, knowing that she would never be with the one thing she wanted most. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anxious for Waverly and Nicole to get together? Me too ;)  
> But I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!


	4. Never Felt Like This Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They both get some stuff off their chest and things don't end like they thought it would.

Two days passed since the encounter back at that little clothes shop. And the more and more hours passed, the more Nicole wanted to wrap Waverly up in her arms and never let her go. The urge to hold her hand, kiss her, hold her, cuddle her- it grew stronger the more time they spent together. She knew that she was going to end up getting hurt, wanting to be with someone that didn't want to be with her. But Nicole just couldn't dismiss her feelings for Waverly; it was just too hard. 

Waverly had no idea what her sexual orientation was. She just knew that she was undeniably and irrevocably attracted to Nicole. The more and more she tried to dismiss it, the stronger and stronger the desire to kiss Nicole became. Every night she wished that Nicole would hold her, just like she did at the hotel. Granted, it was terrifying, being attracted to males all her life and all of a sudden, this cute, misunderstood redhead steps in and changes  _everything._ She had never felt this way about anything or anyone before. 

***

"So, you know about my past failed relationship," Waverly said turning down the radio. "What about you? Any boyfriends I don't know about?" 

" _Not a boyfriend,"_ Nicole thought to herself. 

"Nope," Nicole said, focusing on the road. "No boyfriends." 

Waverly furrowed her brows in confusion, " _Someone as beautiful as her, no boyfriends? Is she serious?"_

"Really?" Waverly asked, genuinely shocked. 

"Really," Nicole said calmly. 

"Why not?" 

"Not really into boys," Nicole said. "Because I'm gay." 

" _Oh,_ " Waverly thought to herself. " _This means I have a chance."_

"Oh," Waverly said, unsure what to say. 

"I've only had one girlfriend, Shae Pressman. Things went well for the first few months, but I caught her cheating and ended it pretty quick. That was a year ago, haven't been with anyone since," Nicole said coming to a stop at a red light. 

Waverly looked back at the road; she was hella confused as to her sexuality. But she did know that she was very much attracted to Nicole. It scared her, knowing how new everything was. 

"I know how that feels," Waverly said, thinking back to when she used to date Champ. "It sucks, I'm sorry that she did that to you. It was pretty dumb of her to cheat on you." 

"Well, looking back, we were pretty different people. And there were times where she was an awful girlfriend and person in general. Honestly, it was probably better that she cheated and we broke up. Things would've gotten so toxic if that relationship continued. I was just too young and naive to realize it," Nicole said, speeding up on the highway. "I guess we both had pretty shitty relationships."

Waverly gave a small laugh, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry that happened. She doesn't deserve you; you deserve so much better.

" _That person could be me,"_ Waverly thought to herself. 

" _That person is you, you're my 'so much better,' "_ Nicole thought. 

"If you ask me she's pretty stupid to hurt you like that," Waverly said. 

Nicole smiled, "Well, I think the people of Purgatory would disagree. They tend to keep their distance."

"You don't deserve that reputation either; you're nothing like people say you are. You're not rude; you're the complete opposite. Honestly, you're the sweetest person I think I've ever met," Waverly said blushing. She was unsure why she was so open with her thought. 

"Thank you so much, Waves. Everyone I've met says I'm unfriendly and not pleasant to be around, so that means a lot," Nicole said with a soft voice. She pulled into another hotel, this one was smaller but still looked expensive as hell.

"Nicole, another hotel? Isn't that kinda expensive?" Waverly asked, concerned that Nicole was wasting her money. 

"My rich aunt, remember?" Nicole asked with a smile. She pulled into a parking space that was close to the hotel door. "Don't worry about it. I can promise you that she doesn't mind." 

Waverly got out of the car, unsure if Nicole was telling the truth. She'd feel awful if Nicole got in trouble for spending so much. 

"Ok, but I'd feel like shit if you got in trouble," Waverly said grabbing her bag and backpack.

"I won't," Nicole said walking toward the hotel, with Waverly following. 

Nicole checked into their suite, but little did Waverly know she picked out the penthouse suite. It had a view of the city lights and the little lake that was a little ways from town. She knew Waverly would love it. 

"Did we end up with a room all the way at the top?" Waverly asked, leaning against the elevator wall. She was wondering why this elevator ride was taking so long. 

"Yeah," Nicole said, trying not to give too much away. It was another few seconds until the elevator dinged and the doors opened. 

Waverly thought she was going to be met with a hallway, but when the doors opened and revealed this gorgeous penthouse- it was safe to say she was a loss for words. 

"What the hell? Nicole, did you buy this?" Waverly said, walking in slowly, her mouth wide open, gawking at the beautiful room that Nicole had rented for the night. 

There was a giant TV hanging up above the fireplace. A huge gray, sectional couch, a fancy kitchen with marble tops, and stairs that led up to their rooms. The balcony had outdoor furniture, a fire pit, and even a hot tub. The view was beautiful, you could see the city lights, cars driving by, and you could even hear the live band playing in the park. You could see families camping near the small lake outside of town and could hear kids screaming and jumping into the water. 

"Nicole, this is, I don't- I mean," Waverly said, throwing her bags onto the couch. 

"You don't have to say anything," Nicole said smiling and throwing her bags next to Waverly. "I just wanted to do something nice for you."

"This is the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me," Waverly said walking out to the balcony. "You  _did not_ have to do this. This must've been insanely expensive." Waverly walked up to the railing and leaned against it, listening to the sound of the city. 

"Don't worry about it," Nicole said firmly but sweetly. "Just enjoy it," she said leaning up against the railing next to Waverly. 

Waverly turned and smiled at Nicole, but got distracted by the hot tub behind her. 

"Oh my, a hot tub!" Waverly squealed. "We have to get in! I've never been in one before!" 

Nicole laughed at Waverly's excitement. Waverly was beaming and was all over the place with excitement. Nicole wasn't sure how someone so small could have so much energy, even with all the traveling they did that day. 

"We can do that," Nicole said opening the door for Waverly. "I didn't bring a bathing suit though."

"That's fine. I'm sure a bra and underwear would work just fine," Waverly said. "I'm going to go change," she said walking into a bathroom in the hallway that was near the laundry room. 

" _I'm about to see Waverly Earp in a bikini. Fuck,"_ Nicole thought to herself. 

Waverly came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. "All yours," she said. 

"I'll be in the hot tub!" Waverly said excitedly. 

Nicole smiled at Waverly's enthusiasm. All she wanted was to be in the hot tub with Waverly Earp. 

Nicole came out to the balcony a few minutes later, in underwear and sports bra. 

" _Oh my, she's so fucking hot,"_ Waverly thought as Nicole got in across from Waverly.

"You can sit next to me if you want, you don't have to be so far away," Waverly said moving over to make room for Nicole.

Nicole smiled and moved over to the spot next to Waverly. 

"This feels so nice," Nicole said, leaning her head back and sinking more into the nice warm, relaxing water. 

"My ass is numb from the car seat," Waverly said, moving the slightest bit closer to Nicole.

"Yeah, they aren't that comfortable are they?" Nicole said with a laugh.

"When did you know you were gay?" Waverly asked, very out of the blue, which shocked Nicole.

Nicole looked over at Waverly, with a smirk on her face. "Um, kinda knew all along. But I finally kinda accepted it in middle school. Why?"

"Just wondering. I kinda realize how much I don't know about, y'know," Waverly said awkwardly, she could feel herself getting red.

Nicole laughed, "Yeah, never was really boy crazy or anything."

Nicole slouched back down and closed her eyes, relishing how relaxed she was. They sat there in silence, just living in the moment and letting all their tense muscles relax. Waverly couldn't stop staring at Nicole. At her lips, her jawline, her beautiful body. The only thing on her mind was Nicole and how she desperately wanted to be in Nicole's arms.

"I had a poster of Cindy Crawford on my wall, and I wasn't just staring at her mole," Nicole said laughing at herself. 

" _Her laugh is so cute,"_ Waverly thought to herself. 

"I never was attracted to boys, never. Instead of thinking 'oh he is so cute' I'd think ' _she_ is so cute.' I was also a pretty big tomboy. Basketball shirts and t-shirts were enough for me. I hated wearing dresses. But everyone once and a while I'll throw on a dress, and it's not the worse thing in the world. But I'm more comfortable with jeans and collared shirts and t-shirts. Not crop tops or cut- off shoulder things or whatever they're called. Not that I have a problem with any of that. It's just not me.'

"Well, I was the definition girly- girl when I was little. I loved to dress up, loved princesses, dresses; I liked to throw a tea party every once and a while. I forced Wynonna to attend them with, poor thing. Despite her awful decisions, she is such a good sister. Always sacrificing things to make me happy, even if it means her dignity," Waverly said laughing to herself. 

"I was more of a batman gal," Nicole said, with her eyes still closed. "I even had a crush on Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I was such a nerd."

"I was probably worse. Even though I was super into barbies, I was also super into learning," Waverly said.

Nicole opened her eyes and turned to look at Waverly, giving her a 'what-the-fuck' look. 

"I know, weird. But I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a doctor, and I knew it'd be a lot of work. I always wanted to learn, I was super into science," Waverly said looking down.

"That's not weird, that's pretty badass. You're way ahead of our classmates. Me on the other hand, I wasn't much of a school person. I'm still not, never was book smart. But you know that since I know nothing about chemistry," Nicole said, turning her head back and closing her eyes. 

"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses," Waverly said. "I guess mine is school." 

"You have a lot more going for you than your smarts," Nicole said, taking Waverly's hand into hers. She opened her eyes and looking right into Waverly's. "Don't think you're anything less." Nicole let go of Waverly's hand but kept the eye contact.

"Well, like what? The only thing I've ever done was school," Waverly said bluntly. 

"Waverly, you seriously don't know?" Nicole asked in shock. 

Waverly shook her head. All she did was school, that's it. 

"Well for starters, you're so funny and so kind. You were so nice to me when no one else was. You're so different than everyone else, you know what you want in life, and you don't take no for an answer," Nicole said, giving a small smile to Waverly. 

Waverly blushed for the millionth time that day. She didn't think it was possible to be even more attracted to Nicole. 

All of a sudden Waverly found herself moving from her seat and making her way next to Nicole, their legs touching. 

Nicole sat there with a smile, but also had a puzzled look on her face. 

"Can I say something?" Waverly asked, hoping her calm demeanor would hide the fact that she was freaking out.

"Of course, Waverly. You can tell me anything," Nicole said sincerely. 

 "Nicole, I really like you," Waverly said with a shaky voice. 

Nicole smiled and blushed, "Really?" 

Waverly nodded, "Yes."

Nicole smiled. She was currently trying to process if this was real or if she was dreaming. If it was a dream she was sure she would never get over Waverly Earp now. 

"I've never been attracted to a girl. But everything feels so right with you. I feel like I can be myself without getting judged. For the first time in a forever I feel genuinely happy. And you do that to me, Nicole. You also do this," Waverly said, taking Nicole's hand in hers and pressing it to her chest; letting her feel her racing heart. 

"You scare me, Nicole," Waverly said, looking right in Nicole's eyes. 

"I scare you?" Nicole asked you could tell that she immediately felt bad about however she scared Waverly. 

"Yes, you do. I'm scared that this 'thing' between us isn't going to work out and I'm going to lose you. I don't think I can lose another person," Waverly said, her voice getting shaky. She cleared her voice, hoping to get rid of the lump in her throat. 

Waverly had been through so much. Losing her mom, her sister, her dad, and now Wynonna was going to jail. And even losing herself with Champ and forgetting who she was and wanted to be. She was terrified, and it broke Nicole's heart.

"Waverly, I'd never hurt you," Nicole said, sitting up more to face Waverly better. "I've wanted to hold you," she said, pulling Waverly even closer. "Cuddle you, love you," she said smirking.  

"Waverly, I've liked you, well, forever. The first time I saw you in freshman year, struggling to open your locker. I never thought you'd be into someone, like me," Nicole said looking down. "If someone told me that we'd be here right now, I would never in a million years believe it. You're all I've wanted, Waverly. I don't feel judged when I'm around you. For the first time since I came to Purgatory, I don't feel like the troublemaker everyone should stay away from, don't be afraid," Nicole said, cupping her face in her wet, warm hands. "I'm not going to hurt you; I'm not leaving. You mean so much to me, it's always been you, only you." 

You can see a wave of relief come over Waverly. Her shoulders dropped, and her breathing slowed down. 

A slow smile formed across Nicole's face. She slowly leaned in and gave her a soft and tender kiss on the lips. She felt Waverly smile into the kiss and deepened it; she had the softest lips. Which didn't surprise Nicole considering Waverly put chapstick on. Every. Day. It was the cutest thing though, the way Waverly made self-care a top priority. 

The kiss lasted no more than five seconds. Nicole pulled away and gave Waverly the sweetest smile and looked lovingly into her eyes. 

"You're beautiful, Waverly Earp," Nicole said, moving a stray piece of hair from her eyes. 

Waverly blushed again and could feel her face getting red. 

"You're not bad yourself," Waverly said smirking and burying her head in Nicole's neck. Nicole could feel Waverly smile into her neck, which in turn made her smile, too. 

"Wanna sit in front of the fireplace? Y'know, super romantic couple stuff," Nicole said. 

"Yes, I'd love to," Waverly said with a little bit of excitement in her voice. She didn't want to seem  _too_ enthusiastic. Even though in her head she was freaking out. 

"Let's go, girl!" Nicole said, sweeping her up bridal style and somehow managing to climb over the hot tub edge and down the small wooden stairs that were at the bottom of the hot tub. 

Waverly started giggling and buried her head into Nicole's chest, breathing in that intoxicating vanilla dipped donuts smell. A smell that she could never get enough of. 

She opened the door back to the penthouse and set Waverly down and grabbed the towels that they had laid out earlier. 

"You get changed, and I'll get the fire started," Nicole said, giving Waverly a soft kiss on the head before letting her head to the bathroom. 

Waverly couldn't believe this was happening. And she couldn't believe how happy she was, she was never this happy with Champ, never. It was so surreal; the butterflies would not go away, every time she thought of Nicole her stomach did flips. She was the most beautiful person Waverly had ever seen. 

She changed into some flower pajama shorts and a Shorty's t-shirt. She came back out to find Nicole making a makeshift mattress with the two blankets that were lying out. She propped up some pillows against the couch and moved the coffee table over, so they could enjoy the fire. She changed into some very tiny, navy blue and white anchor pajama shorts and a Nirvana t-shirt. And you could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra. And Waverly didn't mind, at all. 

"Wow, really going all out are we?" Waverly asked, throwing her wet clothes into the towel and leaving it on the floor. 

"Of course, everything has to be perfect," Nicole said, neaten out the blanket for the fifth time. 

"Baby, everything is already perfect," Waverly said, walking closer to Nicole. 

"Baby?" Nicole said, standing up and facing Waverly. "I like the sound of that," she said, grabbing Waverly's waist and pulling her close. She smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss, before letting go and fixing the blankets again. 

She grabbed her blue blanket from her bag and sat down with open arms, gesturing for Waverly to come to sit with her. 

Waverly obliged and sat in between Nicole's legs, resting her head on her chest. Nicole grabbed her blue blanket and placed it gently over their legs. She turned her head and placed a soft kiss on Waverly's cheek before wrapping her arms around her stomach. Waverly smiled and took Nicole's hands in her own and snuggled deeper, just enjoying this perfect moment with her perfect new girlfriend. 

They laid there for a while, not talking and just taking in the moment, wrapped in each other's arms. Of course, they were sharing a few kisses here and there, Waverly had never felt so happy before, not with Champ, not with anyone. 

"Waverly," Nicole said, with a serious tone in her voice that worried Waverly. 

"What?" Waverly asked, sitting up and turning around and sitting on Nicole's lap, letting her legs hang over Nicole's. "What's wrong?"

"Can I tell you about my mom?" she asked with a shaky voice and scared eyes.  

"Of course," Waverly said, wrapping her arms around Nicole's neck. "You can tell me anything," she said sympathetically, giving her a quick kiss on the tip of Nicole's nose. 

"What was your mom like?" Waverly said, pulling away and giving her a sympathetic smile. 

"Amazing. She was such a good mom," Nicole said, diverting her eyes from Waverly's to her lap. "She always smiling and laughing, despite how sick she was. She had such a dry sense of humor that only her family and close friends got. I remember me, my dad, my mom, and my aunt were all eating in the cafeteria. And she was cracking some pretty heinous jokes, and this old lady next to us goes 'I can't believe you speak like that around your child! You should be ashamed of yourself, it's disgusting!' ," Nicole said grinning. 

"How did your mom react?" Waverly asked with a smile on her face, playing with the baby hairs on the nape of her neck. 

"Everyone burst into laughter, like,  _loud_ laughter. Like, caused the entire cafeteria to stop what they were doing and stare. I mean I was like eight at the time, I had no idea what was going on. I mean now that I'm older I understand her joke, but- yeah. She had such a great sense of humor. I have so many memories of just, like, laughing. And she was so sweet and kind, always putting everyone before herself, even when she was so weak she barely get up or move. My dad told me that she asked about me when I wasn't there with her. If I was doing ok or needed help with my homework or something. Always making sure I was doing alright. My dad said that when she woke up from chemo or surgery or anything really, the first thing out of her mouth was 'How's Nicole doing?'

But, little did we all know, after that cafeteria event-," Nicole said, pausing and taking a big breath in.

"She um, uh," she said her voice quivering. She could feel the lump in her throat, and she could feel her eyes watering.  She did not want to spend their first official night together with her bawling her eyes out. 

"Shh, it's ok, baby," Waverly said, pulling her close to her chest and letting her cry, holding her tight and comforting her.  "You don't have to say it." 

Nicole didn't say anything and wrapped her arms around Waverly and held her, while she was bawling her eyes out and getting tears all over Waverly's shirt. It was truly a heartbreaking sight to see, to see someone who you care about so much, be completely broken. Waverly hated it and hated that Nicole had to experience pain and loss, too. She didn't want  _anyone_ to go through what they both were going through. 

"I'm so sorry, Waves," Nicole said pulling away and wiping her tears. "This isn't how I wanted to spend our first official night together, me being an emotional mess."

Waverly gently cupped her face in her hands and looked her in the eyes with such love and compassion Nicole was sure her heart was going to burst. 

"Don't apologize, that's why I'm here. You can  _always_ talk to me,  _always._ I'm always going to be here for you, you mean  _so_ much to me," Waverly said softly. She leaned in and gently and tendered kiss on the lips, before resting their foreheads together. 

Nicole smiled leaned and gave her a sloppy, wet, snotty kiss. She felt Waverly smile into it and deepened it. She kept their lips together and awkwardly stood up, still somehow managing to keep her balance while getting to her feet and once again hold Waverly bridal style. 

"What are you doing, silly?" Waverly asked with a few giggles, clutching a fistful of Nicole's shirt and breathing her in. " _Mm, vanilla dipped donuts. I'm going to love getting used to this,"_ she thought, snuggling in closer to Nicole. 

"Going to bed, it's late, I'm tired and I want to cuddle," she said, walking up the fancy marble stairs with a rug on top and gold accented railings. 

Waverly smiled and kissed Nicole's clavicle, she could feel her the butterflies in stomach getting worse and worse. "I want to cuddle, too," she said quietly. 

"Ok, but the question is, what door is the one to the master bathroom?" Nicole asked, setting Waverly down when they reached the top of the stairs. She walked to the first door on their right. She was met with a kid-sized bed, a yellow wall, and even a dollhouse. 

"Nope," she said, shutting the door. 

"Not this one either," Waverly said from the other side, closing the door that led to the bathroom.  

"This one?" Nicole asked, walking to the last door in the middle of the hallway. She opened the door and saw a king size bed with silk bed sheets, a master bathroom, giant TV mounted on the wall, and a big dresser and vanity. It was the biggest room they both had ever seen. 

"Holy shit," Nicole said, standing in the doorway, gawking at the beautiful big room that they got to spend the night in. "This is..."

"Amazing?" Waverly said, heading for the little balcony that also overlooked the city, more specifically the road and the small lake. "They have a little table and chairs out here! We can have breakfast here tomorrow!" she said enthusiastically. 

Nicole smiled about how excited was for the little surprise that Nicole had gotten for the both of them. She loved seeing Waverly so happy and she loved that she was the one making her that happy. 

"Baby, we have to get to bed. I'm exhausted, I just want to sleep," Nicole said, hopping on the bed and getting under the covers. "Come cuddle," she said holding out her arms, making an adorable and irresistible pouty face. 

Waverly smiled and closed the balcony doors and quickly made her way over to the bed. Getting under the covers and cuddling up to Nicole, laying her head against her chest, listening to her heartbeat. 

"Your hearts beating very fast," Waverly said quietly. 

Nicole smiled while she gently ran her fingers through Waverly's soft brown hair. "Well, of course. I'm with a pretty girl and pretty girls tend to make me nervous."

Waverly blushed and smiled, "You think I'm pretty?" 

"Of course. Waverly, I think you're gorgeous. The prettiest human I've ever seen, I never thought that you'd be into someone like me. So yes, I'm very nervous," Nicole said quietly. She gently placed a soft kiss on her head and continued to run her fingers through her hair. 

"Don't be, I'm a marshmallow. And for the record, I never thought I'd meet someone who makes me feel so," Waverly said, pausing, trying to think of the right words. "So secure, and safe," she said. The word 'safe' quietly, almost inaudible. 

"I make you feel safe?" Nicole asked in shock. If anything people felt uncomfortable around her, considering her reputation.

"Yes, you do," Waverly said quietly. "I feel like I can be myself around you. Champ always wanted me to be someone else, he hated that I was smart and so into school. He wanted me to be the typical dumb cheerleader who listened to whatever their boyfriend said. It was super cliché and I hated it. You, you don't judge me."

Nicole gave a sad smile, she hated that Champ treated her like that but she was glad that Waverly felt safe around her. 

"Champ was an ass, I didn't even know you and I knew you deserved better. Waverly you can be whoever you want to be, please don't let Champ get to you. I love who you are, I love how smart you are and how funny you are. How you're  _so_ kind and you never judge a book by its cover, I mean, look at me, us," Nicole said, pulling Waverly closer. "I'm not someone who makes friends easily. Everyone looks at me as an outcast, someone to avoid. I'm so thankful you gave me a chance." 

"Me too," Waverly said. She snuggled deeper into Nicole, breathing in the intoxicating smell of vanilla dipped donuts. She didn't say anything, just listened to Nicole's heartbeat, taking in the lovely moment with someone who made her feel so confident, someone who made her feel happy, genuinely happy.

"And I'd  _never_ treat you like that. Never, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I treated you like that. It breaks my heart that you were in such a bad relationship with Champ. I know what it's like, I don't like seeing anyone go through that," Nicole said, becoming quieter and quieter towards the end of her sentence. 

It stayed quiet for a while, all you could hear was the inhaling and exhaling of each other's breath. They both just took in the moment, being together and being in each other's arms. Waverly had never felt this happy, never. Not even when her Wynonna surprised her with a trip to Disneyland where they somehow snuck into one of the parks and somehow snuck their way onto almost all the rides. 

Waverly started to feel drowsy and before she knew it, she was out. Asleep peacefully on Nicole's chest, their bodies somehow molded perfectly together. Nicole smiled the brunette in her arms, she placed a gentle kiss on her head before reaching over and turning off the lamplight, pulling Waverly even closer and falling asleep with her.  

***

Waverly woke up to the sound of Nicole swearing out on the balcony, followed by a few thuds and what sounded like dishware breaking. She sat up and looked around the room, trying to figure out what was going on. She looked at the clock and it read 9:47 and Waverly never slept that late, not even on weekends. She was always up by 8, 8:30 at the latest.  

She got up and opened the sliding glass doors to find a mug and a silver tray on the ground and a little bit of coffee spilled on the floor. 

"Dammit!" Nicole exclaimed, picking up the tray and mug. "Oh, hi," she said with a small smile. 

"Morning," Waverly said, stepping out and closing the doors behind her. She smirked while she watched Nicole clean up the small mess she made. "What is this?"

"Well, the plan was to set up a really nice breakfast and crawl into bed with you and wake you up with kisses and stuff. Y'know romantic-y stuff," she said, standing up and throwing away the coffee soaked napkin. 

She put her hand to her forehead in frustration and turned to look at the mess she made. "It was supposed to be nice, not turn into a mess." 

Waverly grinned and walked over and wrapped her arms around Nicole from behind, pressing soft kisses on her back. "It's lovely. It's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, really Nicole. I love it." 

Nicole smiled and turned around, wrapping her arms around her petite Waverly. "I'm glad, I really wanted to surprise you." She leaned down slightly and placed a soft kiss on Waverly's lips, pulling her close and deepening it.

Waverly smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around her neck, playing with her little baby hairs. She pulled away before it went any further, she let go of Nicole and looked at the display of toast, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, and some coffee that was laying out on the somewhat small balcony table. 

"Wow, is this fresh fruit?" she asked, walking closer to the table. 

Nicole pulled out the chair and let Waverly sit before gently pushing her in. It was little things like this that made Waverly swoon. 

"Sure is, told them I would personally come down there if it wasn't the freshest fruit they could find," she said, walking over to her seat. 

Waverly laughed while she poured herself a cup of coffee. She could easily see Nicole doing that. 

"How did I not wake up, I mean they had to have knocked on the door and everything. I don't think I'm that heavy of a sleeper?" Waverly asked.

"I stood by the door, looking out every 2 minutes, I didn't want to wake you up because I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess I kinda already did," Nicole said, also pouring herself a cup of coffee. 

"Nicole, don't worry about it. I can promise you I'm surprised. I can't believe you'd do this for me," Waverly said, grabbing a plate full of food and the small dish with fresh fruit. 

"Of course I would. I'd do anything for you, Waverly," Nicole said, reaching her hand out and placing it atop of Waverly's. 

Waverly smiled and blushed, she looked down at her breakfast and grabbed her fork. 

Nicole smiled at the way Waverly's eyes crinkled whenever she blushed, she thought it was cute. 

Their peaceful breakfast was anything but peaceful. It was full of conversation, laughs, and a few snorts. Mainly coming from Waverly, she apologized every time, embarrassed by what just come out of her mouth. Nicole told her she didn't need to and insisted that it was adorable and that she loved. 

Waverly had never felt this happy and this put together in her life. She felt like everything was coming together, that there wasn't something missing anymore. Nicole made her feel alive again, she loved having her around. It had only been about a week and a half, but she knew she couldn't live without Nicole. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this one! Sorry if the fluff was overkill? I was proofreading and was like 'maybe this is too much.' So sorry about that! But thank you guys for kudos and nice comments!
> 
> Also sorry for any grammar errors! I was trying to get this out and didn't really have time to proofread.


	5. IM SO SORRY Y'ALL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY IVE LITERALLY LIKE ABANDONED THIS FIC. READ BELOW

I know, it's been like 6 months. I'm so sorry I slacked so much on this. Honestly, I was having some writer's block, got frustrated, and just never came back to it. And I underestimated the work of simultaneously writing two fics at the same time. I'm going to work really hard on this fic guys because I really enjoy writing Wayhaught vs. married Wayhaught. I hope you guys can forgive me and I hope you can stay with me and this fic. I love you guys and appreciate y'all so much, knowing you guys like my writing and fics means so much.

Hopefully the next chapter should be up soon and thank you all for sticking with me :) <3 


	6. New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole spend the day together. They open up and learn more about each other and becoming closer as a new couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I lowkey, no highkey ripped a scene from 'The Last Song.' It's a great movie and I would recommend. But yeah, it's basically the same, just a little different and gay.

Waverly and Nicole left early that morning, wanting to get as much driving done as possible; even though they had no idea where they were going. Windows were down with the wind blowing in their faces, music blaring from all sides of the jeep. Waverly was driving this time for the first time in a few days. Her sunglasses on and her hand rested on Nicole's thigh, tracing lazy circles gently with the pad of her thumb. Nicole's other leg, propped up on the dashboard, she was staring out the window also with her sunglasses on. 

It was a very sunny and very warm day, so it felt really nice to have the windows down with a nice cool breeze blowing in their faces. Waverly's long brown hair blowing every which way, while Nicole didn't have to deal with that problem considering she had short red hair. 

Waverly turned down the music and rolled up the windows part way. Nicole turned to her, waiting for her to say something. 

"Where are we?" Waverly asked, glancing at Nicole and then back at the road. 

"Um," Nicole asked, sitting up in her seat and looking around the town, hoping to see some sign that would give her an idea as to where they are. 

"I don't know," she said quietly. "Maybe we should pull over and grab something to eat and walk around town? Maybe we'll find like a brochure or something that will tell us where we are." 

Waverly giggled and pulled into a parking spot along the road. "Or we could ask someone where we are." 

"No, we'll look so dumb!" Nicole exclaimed with a smile, unbuckling her seatbelt. "We cannot ask someone 'Hey! We both impulsively left home and have been driving for a few days. Where are we?' I still have my pride to keep here, Waves," she said with laughter. 

"Alright, alright," Waverly said taking the keys out of the ignition. "It's only 11, what are you in the mood for? We could get maybe like fruit smoothies or coffee, or a like I don't know a breakfast burrito? I'm really not that hungry," she said, opening her door and getting out of the car.

Nicole smiled and opened her door and followed Waverly onto the sidewalk. From their drive through it looked like a very small town and it looked like they were on Main Street. 

"Coffee sounds good to me," Nicole said, slipping her hand into Waverly's and intertwining their fingers. 

Waverly blushed and pulled her hand back, her smile quickly dissipated and she looked away from Nicole. 

"Um, I'm sorry, it's just, uh," Waverly said, stuttering on her words. 

"Hey, it's ok," Nicole said calmly, giving Waverly an encouraging smile. "I get it, it's new to you and you're not ready for the whole world to know. It's ok, I'm not going to rush you, take your time, Waves. I want you to be as comfortable as possible." 

Waverly gave a small, sympathetic smile back, so glad that Nicole understood. She was right, Waverly wasn't ready to take these big giant steps in such a new relationship. She wasn't used to being happy, to being herself. She was used to following the crowd, the crowd being Champ. She did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. 

"Thank you for understanding," she said quietly. "I'm just not ready yet. It's very different and very new to me."

"It's ok, Waves. I get it, I really do," Nicole said quietly, leading them both to a small cafe. She held the door open for Waverly and let her walk in first, which made Waverly blush even harder. She wasn't used to being treated this way, like a human being that deserved respect. Champ never gave her one ounce of respect, so Waverly was really enjoying how Nicole was treating her. It made her feel special and it gave her butterflies every time. 

"Hi, can I just get two iced coffees with almond milk and two sugars?" Nicole asked the server at the register, pulling out her wallet. She was about to pull out a twenty when she felt someone stop her, gently tugging her hand back down. 

"I got it, you've been paying for everything this entire trip," Waverly said, pulling out a twenty from her wallet. 

"No, Waves. It's ok, really I-" Nicole started, to quickly get cut off by the small brunette standing next to her. 

"No. We're not negotiating this, I got it," Waverly said, handing the money to the cashier. She took her twenty dollar bill with a smile and happily gave them their change back. 

"That'll be up in a few minutes just down there," she said, leaning over the counter and pointing all the way the marble top, showing where they could wait for their drinks. 

Nicole walked all the way to the end of the counter, Waverly following behind. There were two more people in front of them before they finally got their drinks, much-needed drinks. Waverly didn't realize how tired she was until she took had some caffeine in her. 

"So, now that you know a little about me," Nicole said by Waverly's side, making their way down the sidewalk into town. It was a hot day and Waverly could already feel beads of sweat forming on the top of her forehead. 

"What about you? What's Miss High Honor's Every Quarter hiding?" Nicole said, trying to get a rise out of Waverly. 

"Hey, I didn't make high honors every quarter," Waverly with a giggle. She knew she was smart and good at school, she normally wasn't one to boast but hearing it out loud did make put a smile across her face. 

"Ok, that one-time sophomore doesn't count. You still made honors," Nicole said with a smirk.  

"How do know about that?" Waverly asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

"You wouldn't stop talking about it for like two weeks straight," Nicole said. 

Waverly laughed, "Yeah, it really bugged me. But, I don't know," she said looking down. "What do you want to know?" She looked back up at Nicole and took a sip of her coffee, waiting for the redhead's answer. 

"I don't know. What's your schtick, your muse, what do you do for fun?" Nicole rambled, not realizing she was overwhelming Waverly just a little bit. 

Waverly sucked in her lips and thought, what did she do for fun? She was with Champ since freshman year, worked at Shorty's ever since she was old enough to make her father a whiskey sour, she did field hockey for a year- which wasn't fun, and she did school. School is fun, right?

"School, I guess," Waverly said with a shrug. 

Nicole threw her head back in disapproval. "No, school can't be fun," she said in disbelief. 

"I mean, it's not that bad," Waverly said monotoned. 

"You can't possibly be saying that studying and doing equations is fun," she said, gently punching Waverly's arm, hoping the somewhat serious look on her face would disappear. "It's like saying prison is fun." 

"Ok, you can't compare school and prison," Waverly said with an eye roll and a smile.

Nicole shrugged, "They're the same to me."

"I don't know. I haven't really done anything that interest, Shorty's and school. And being Champ's arm candy. And before high school, it was just Shorty's and school. Nothing interesting," she said quietly. 

Nicole huffed and shook her head. "Well, me personally. I love music, plan on going to music school after high school. Although I must say, I'm pretty torn between basketball and music. Coach says if I work hard enough, I might a shot at going pro. But I did get a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and my guitar teacher thinks I should take it, she thinks I could be really big in the music industry and I work and study hard enough. I love both, but I have no idea which one to chose." 

Waverly shook her head, taking another big sip of her coffee. "Well, what can you see yourself doing for the rest of your life? Traveling and playing basketball games all around the world, or, traveling around the world and playing on stage every night and writing music?" 

Nicole sighed and threw her empty coffee cup out. She didn't realize how fast she drank it all. "I see myself writing music, working with other musicians, completely shredding on stage," she said with a dorky smile. 

"But I choose music and I feel like I'm cheating on basketball. I choose basketball and I feel like I'm cheating on music," Nicole said, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Both my teachers say I have a shot at being big in both careers. If there was a way I could do both, I would." 

"Maybe you can, you know, joining the marching band," Waverly said with a smirk. 

Nicole opened her mouth in disbelief. "Waverly," she said with a gasp. _"_ The marching band? I'm offended," she said with a smile. 

"What, too good for the marching band? A bit cocky are we?" She was trying her best to be serious, but couldn't help but giggle. 

"Yes," Nicole said proudly. "No, but really, I don't know what to chose. It's really stressing me out. What do you think I should do?"

"Honestly?"

Nicole shook her head yes. 

"It's corny, but I think you should follow your heart. You should do what makes you the happiest and what you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life."

Nicole nodded and looked ahead as they continued walking. 

"I think I want to do music. I can't imagine my life without it. A pro basketball career isn't always going to be there for me and music isn't either, but it just feels right, doing music for the rest of my life." 

Nicole smiled and looked down. 

"Well, now I get to say I've dated celebrity Nicole Haught," Waverly winked and nudged Nicole's arm playfully. 

" _No, you get to say you're my wife, whether I become famous or not,_ " Nicole thought to herself. 

"We should get going," Nicole said. She held out her hand for the keys. 

Waverly nodded and handed the keys to Nicole, following her back to the car. 

 

They drove for about two and a half hours, Waverly eventually fell asleep while holding hands with Nicole. The only thing they could really do was sing to the radio and talk. But they didn't mind. In fact, Waverly loved that it was only Nicole and her. She felt so safe and wanted with her, it was a new feeling that she never had with Champ. 

It was weird, she knew that Wynonna loved her, but it was different with Nicole. She listened and was genuinely interested in what Waverly had to say. Wynonna would get bored and cut her off before she could finish. But Nicole seemed to pay attention to everything, every little detail never went unnoticed by her. 

They drove for another hour before stopping in what seemed like a small city. It had started raining hard, so walking around wasn't an option this time. 

"Oh, there's a diner," Waverly said, pointing to the sign that read, 'Redtown Diner.' 

"How do we get there?" Nicole asked, slowing down and looking for any road or direction. 

"Um, try down there maybe?" Waverly pointed down a dirt road, it looked sketchy and Nicole couldn't see anything with the rain, but she couldn't see any other intersection or side road. She slowly turned down the dirt road and drove under 30 mph, to avoid getting in an accident. 

"This seems sketchy," Nicole said quietly.

Waverly shrugged. "Well, it'll make for an interesting story." 

Nicole felt the car dip a little so she pushed on the gas a little more, but they weren't moving. They were stuck in the mud, the car going nowhere. It was pouring rain, the jeep was covered in dirt, and visibility was poor.

"Shit," Nicole mumbled. "We're stuck." She turned to Waverly in frustration. 

"What do we do?" Waverly asked, peering out the window as best she could despite it being closed. 

"I don't really know," Nicole said, exhaling. "We could call a mechanic?"

Waverly shook her head. "We're in a town we don't know," she turned on her phone, checking her service. "We have no service an even if we did we don't know any numbers to call." 

Nicole leaned back and closed her eyes, racking her brain for any ideas. 

"The only thing I can do is push," Nicole said in frustration.

"What? No way, it's dark, you're going to get soaking wet, and someone could come out of the woods and kill you! I'm not letting my first and only girlfriend go and get herself killed," Waverly argued, crossing her arms. "At least let me help." 

Nicole laughed and reached out for Waverly's hand. "I'll be ok. I've lived alone for 7 years, I think I can handle it. Besides, I don't want you to get hurt. It'll be easier if I'm the only one getting hurt. You get it the driver's seat and roll down the window when I say go put your foot on the gas and give it all you got." 

Waverly glared at Nicole and finally gave in by sighing and rolling her eyes. 

"Fine, but I swear to god if you get hurt  _I'll_ be the one killing you," Waverly said. She leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss on Nicole's lips, it didn't last for more than 3 seconds, but to her, it felt like they were the only ones in the whole world. 

Nicole smiled and got out of the car, she put her hoodie up and ran to the back. Waverly slid into the driver's seat and had to adjust it closer to the wheel, just another part of having a tall girlfriend. She rolled down the window halfway and waited for Nicole.

Nicole planted her feet in the thick, brown mud and put her hands on the back of the red jeep and bushed. She was partially blinded by the bright taillights, she began to push as hard as she could, despite her being soaking wet and shivering. 

"Go!" she yelled out over the sound of the rain. 

Waverly stomped on the gas as hard as she could, hoping that they would get somewhere. They did end up getting the car out of the mud, but all it did was get Nicole covered in mud. 

"Agh! Yeah, ok, ok, ok, um," Nicole exclaimed, stepping back and holding out her arms, looking down at her mud-covered jeans and sweatshirt. 

Waverly looked back and laughed hysterically. 

"Yeah, haha, very funny," Nicole yelled out from the back. 

Waverly grabbed her hoodie from the back and threw it on and got out, walking back over to Nicole. 

When she saw Nicole she laughed even harder and didn't even try to hide it.

Nicole cocked an eyebrow and shook her head, accepting the challenge that Waverly was blindly tossing her way. 

"Hey, Waverly? I think I need a hug," Nicole said, holding out her arms and walking toward Waverly.

"Oh no, don't you dare," Waverly said, wagging her finger no and walking backward.

"But baby, I'm sad, I just need a hug from the lovely girlfriend," Nicole said, quickening her pace.

"No!" Waverly squealed, she turned around and started running in circles around the jeep. It was still pouring, which didn't help the situation.

She made one loop around the jeep before slipping and falling right on her bum, getting mud all over jeans too. 

Now Nicole was the one laughing hysterically. She doubled over in laughter before helping Waverly help. She offered her hand to Waverly, which she grabbed, but instead pulled Nicole to the ground with her, both squealing in laughter. 

They both finally helped each other up, holding each other's mud covered hands. 

While fixing their hoodies and moving the hair out of each other's eyes, Nicole found herself staring at Waverly. 

"What?" Waverly asked with a smile and a small glisten in her eye, the smile that Nicole fell in love with more and more each day. 

Nicole smiled and gently cupped Waverly's face in her hands, getting a little mud on her cheeks. She pulled her into a searing kiss, rain still pouring over them, drops of water running over their lips. She noted that her lips slightly tasted of mud, but she didn't mind. The girl that she had been crushing on was finally her girlfriend, in her arms, on her lips. There were butterflies in her stomach.

Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole and pulled her impossibly closer, Nicole walked them both back so that they were now leaning against the car door. Still kissing each other, moving their lips together in perfect synchronization. Waverly slipped her tongue into Nicole's mouth, hoping Nicole would accept the invitation, which she did. She opened her mouth to let Waverly's tongue in, while also returning the favor.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, mindlessly making out in the rain, covered in mud and probably on the verge of getting a cold. They would've continued if they were interrupted by a noise coming from the woods.

Nicole whipped her head around, trying to see what was out there. But what they thought was a big menacing creature turned out to be a rabbit, hopping across the mud covered road into the woods across. 

They both broke out in laughter and turned back to each other. 

"Let's get going, I don't wanna get sick," Nicole said, giving Waverly a quick peck on the lips and smiling at her. 

"I have some towels in the back, we can put those on the seat until we find a motel or somewhere to change." Waverly walked to the back and opened the back door, grabbing two towels and quickly shutting the door so it wouldn't get too wet. She quickly tossed them in the front so they could avoid getting wet, too. 

Nicole put them on the driver's seat and they hopped in, putting on both seat warmers and heat, considering they were now freezing and in wet clothes. She smiled and leaned over to give Waverly one last quick kiss before turning the ignition and slowly driving down the road. 

A few turns later and they were finally back on the main road. They drove for a few miles before finally finding a Ritz-Carlton. Waverly insisted on a motel since it was cheaper. But Nicole fought back, which wasn't easy on her part. She insisted on spending their first official night as a couple in a nice hotel. 

They got a room on the 5th floor all the way at the end of the hall. Nicole had requested only one bed, but not before asking Waverly of course. 

"Ugh, I need to shower," Nicole said, throwing her bag on the floor. "You can join if you want." Nicole paused and made a surprised face. "I mean, uh, if you want to of course. You don't have to, I just thought since, y'know, we both need showers and we're like, a, um couple. But-"

Waverly cut off Nicole's nervous rambling by gently pulling her towards her and crashing their lips together. 

"I'd love to," Waverly said happily and with a warm smile. "Get the shower ready and I'll be there in a second." 

Nicole smiled giddily and headed for the bathroom. 

Waverly could hear the gentle stream of the water hitting the bottom of the bathtub. She smiled to herself, she was excited to take this next step with her new girlfriend. The girl that gave her butterflies to no end, the girl that made her heart skip a beat, and the girl that made her world stop and made her walls come crumbling down. She had never felt this way before, not with anyone. She was really starting to fall for Nicole and fall hard. 

Nicole was already in the shower when Waverly walked in. She shut the door slowly behind her. She took her towel off and placed it on the sink next to her. 

"Nicole?" she called out. 

"Yeah, you can just come in if you want, I don't mind," Nicole said calmly.

Despite Nicole's calm down, she was terrified. She wasn't really sure why she let the invitation even leave her mouth in the first place. Of course, she was looking forward to the day when they did this stuff all the time, but it was too soon and she was nervous about the brunette's reaction.

Waverly took a deep breath and opened the curtain, to reveal Nicole's naked body. Her now wet and dark, short red hair, toned abs, curvy hips, and perky boobs. Waverly's breath hitched, she was amazed at how beautiful Nicole was.. 

"Waves?" Nicole asked, holding on her hand. 

"What? Sorry," Waverly took Nicole's hand and stepped into the shower. "You're just so beautiful."

"I should be saying that about you," Nicole said with a smile.  

Nicole couldn't believe how fit Waverly was, she looked so skinny and yet was so muscular. She had abs, defined arms, and obvious quads. Nicole thought she was sexy as hell.

Waverly blushed and pulled Nicole into a kiss. And that's mainly what they did, they made out in the shower. Nicole insisted on washing Waverly's semi-curly brunette locks. Waverly didn't object, she stood they're happy while Nicole gently washed and massaged her scalp. 

Nothing went further than making out, even after the shower. They got changed and made their way to the bed and haven't been able to get their hands off each other since. They were just making out on the bed, TV going off in the background, lips crashing and gliding together. 

After about 15 minutes, Nicole pulled away and smiled down at her perfect girlfriend. 

"We should probably get some sleep." Nicole placed a gentle kiss to Waverly's forehead. 

"Ok," Waverly pouted just a bit, she wanted to continue making out. 

"Don't pout," Nicole said, moving a piece of hair from Waverly's face. "It's adorable, almost irresistible. If you keep pouting I won't be able to say no and we'll be up all night making out."

"Doesn't seem that bad to me," Waverly said, pulling Nicole into another kiss. 

Nicole giggled and reluctantly pulled away. "We really should get some sleep, we have a lot of driving to cover tomorrow. Here, come cuddle," Nicole held out her arms and Waverly happily curled up to Nicole's side. 

Nicole ran her fingers through Waverly's soft brown hair, calming the brunette down and eventually putting her to sleep. Nicole followed soon after, both in each other's arms and both feeling the safest they've ever felt in a while.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all for sticking with me and me literally just abandoning it. Your support means so much to me you have no idea. I'm going to try my hardest to not let this happen again. I love you all from the bottom of my heart :) xo


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